101 Moments
by EsmeAmelia
Summary: COMPLETE. For NaNoWriMo, I'm writing Star Wars fanfiction for 101 different prompts. Most will be Han/Leia, but anything Star Wars related is fair game. They might be happy, sad, angsty, weird, anything goes.
1. Envy

AN: Everyone knows I don't own Star Wars. Now that that's out of the way, welcome to my NaNoWriMo project. I'm going to use 101 writing prompts I found on DeviantArt and write Star Wars fic for all of them, averaging at least 500 words per prompt in order to reach 50,000 words by the end of the month. I'm going to be bashing these out at a rapid pace, so this should be fun.

 **Prompt 1 - Envy**

Han stormed down the hallways of the Rebel Base, grinding his teeth. That image of the princess kissing the kid refused to leave his head. Okay, so she had kissed Luke, so what? It wasn't like she was dating him. It sure as hell wasn't like the kid actually had a _chance_ with her, right?

Right?

He was too young for her. Well all right, they were technically the same age, but he was too _immature_ for her. No matter how old they were, he still carried the air of a boy, while _she_ carried the air of a woman.

Why were his hands shaking?

She had only kissed him to get under Han's skin, right? He had perfected the art of pushing her buttons and when her buttons were pushed, she had a way of reacting in an unpredictable manner.

That was one of the things about her that fascinated him.

But seriously, if it had been Wedge on the bed, she would have kissed him instead. She was out to make Han jealous and Luke just happened to be the nearest guy available, that was all. Hell, he should be pitying the poor kid who probably didn't understand that.

But still, the way he'd stretched out with that oh-so-satisfied look on his face . . .

Han breathed in and out through his teeth, almost snarling like an animal. For three years he had wondered what those lips would feel like against his.

Those full, pink lips.

The lips that could make either a smile or a frown sexy.

Whether she was talking calmly or yelling full of rage, those lips were always teasing him.

What did they taste like? Did she wear flavored lip gloss?

Suddenly he imagined Luke telling him that her lips tasted like mint, or berries, or a sweet wine, or . . .

Now Han's hands were clenching into fists. Why the hell did Luke get to those lips first? Whatever the kid felt for the princess was nothing more than a boyish crush – probably his _first_ crush at that.

Hell, that was probably his first kiss.

Poor kid, his first kiss was just a feeble attempt at making another guy jealous. Maybe he'd figure it out one day – Han sure hoped he would. If this damn war ever ended, Luke would probably find a nice girl and they'd settle down and laugh when Luke told her about his first kiss.

That girl just wouldn't be Leia.

The kid _did_ just have a crush, right?

Han's teeth were grinding so hard that they started to hurt. Okay, so Leia was just trying to make him jealous, but did the kiss _have_ to be so damn sensual? Did she _have_ to suck on his mouth in just the right way to make sure he wouldn't forget it?

That he would wish she were sucking on _his_ mouth?

No, no, he wasn't taking the bait. If Leia wanted him to be jealous, he'd make sure she knew he _wasn't_ jealous. He'd brag about it to the other Rebels that Leia was desperate enough to kiss any old guy just to make him jealous.

But wait, what if _Luke_ started bragging about how the princess kissed him first?

Suddenly Han realized he had stopped walking and was now standing in the middle of the hallway with trembling hands.

Shit, how did that princess _do_ this to him?

Well he'd get back at her.

Somehow.


	2. Love

**Prompt 2 - Love**

 _"_ _I love you."_

Han's aching body desperately wanted to sleep, but his mind wouldn't let him. After a harrowing rescue and nearly being eaten by the Sarlacc, it should be easy to sleep, right? The familiar musky smell of his bunk on the Falcon should be lulling him to slumber.

 _"_ _I love you."_

He opened his eyes, still only able to make out vague blurs, which meant the images in his mind became sharper. The last time he had clearly seen her face, the confession she had made . . .

The confession he hadn't returned.

Why _hadn't_ he returned it?

Her wide, desperate eyes, those eyes longing to hear the words returned before he died, and he hadn't returned them. Instead he'd blurted out two stupid little words that didn't even _mean_ anything. "I know"? What the hell was that – was he trying to make sure that she wouldn't think him weak even in his last moments? What kind of coward was he?

He would have slapped himself if he weren't so exhausted.

His eyes closed again, but Leia's face remained in his mind. _"I love you."_ Those words he'd longed to hear for three years – for the briefest of moments he had forgotten his terror at being frozen and his heart had actually jumped. He remembered how he'd kept his eyes fixed on her as he was lowered down, down, down into the abyss . . .

"Han? Are you all right?"

His eyes popped open at the sound of her voice. "Leia?" he called out. "Could you come in here?"

In an instant the door slid open and she was rushing to his side, though she was still a mess of blurs to Han's malfunctioning eyes. "Is something wrong?"

Han swallowed. "No . . . nothing . . . I just wanted some company."

Leia squeezed his hand and he could imagine her loving smile. "I'm here, Han."

"I know," he blurted and then wanted to slap himself again. Why did those _stupid_ words keep coming out?

She squeezed his hand for several moments with him just absorbing her touch before finally breaking the silence. "Leia . . . I'm havin' trouble sleepin'. I got some pills in the drawer over there – could you get 'em?"

"Of course."

She released his hand, bringing a slight chill, and he heard the drawer opening, closing, the pills shaking, her voice saying "I'll get you some water for these" and then her footsteps leaving him alone again.

 _No, don't leave,_ he wanted to say. _Forget the pills, just stay with me and let me tell you how much I love you._

But again he was silent. His hand reached out as if she were still there. _"I know."_ Fuck those stupid, _stupid_ words. How could he ever make up that moment of idiocy?

"All right," her voice came again. "Here we are."

Han slowly sat up, though it brought a wave of dizziness to his head. He was silent as she handed him the pills and the water and simply held them without making any motions.

"Well?" asked Leia. "Aren't you going to take them?"

Han swallowed. "Yeah . . . Leia, can I tell you something?"

"Sure."

"At Bespin . . . what I said . . . well, I'm sorry it was so . . ."

She put her finger on his lips. "It's all right, Han. I know too."

Her words silenced him. He took the pills, she kissed his forehead, he settled back down already feeling the drugs take effect. "Leia . . . he mumbled in a sleepy voice, ". . . please stay . . ."

"All right."

As he drifted off to sleep, his final words in the carbon freezer still plagued his head. _I'll tell you I love you, sweetheart. I promise._


	3. Inspiration

**Prompt 3 - Inspiration**

Ezra was always trying to catch a glimpse at Sabine's room whenever the door was open. Not that he was a pervert – no, no, he _definitely_ wasn't a pervert. Her room was just fascinating – she was always painting something. Every time he passed her open door, there was a new picture or design on her wall. Sometimes there were just swirls of bright colors; sometimes there were stick figures in battle; sometimes there were caricatures of Imperials. Of course, he was always hoping there might be a picture of him sometime, but aside from the time she had painted his bunk collapsing on Zeb, she had never painted him.

Today, however, there was something completely different.

There were no bright colors, no caricatures, no figures in battle, not even a collapsing bunk. Just black, colorless outlines forming a sad face.

Ahsoka Tano's face.

Ezra stumbled, gripping the door frame for support, his throat tight, his mind suddenly back in that last moment when she had Force-pushed him out of the temple and trapped herself in with Vader.

The last time anyone saw her.

"Ezra? Ezra, are you okay?"

Suddenly Sabine's hands were on his shoulders. "Ezra?" she asked again.

Ezra had to swallow over and over, pushing down whatever was rising up his throat, before he could speak again. "S-s-sorry," he mumbled. "I just . . ."

Sabine patted his back. "I know." She turned around, facing the painting of the fallen Jedi. "Even though I didn't know her that well . . . she was still an inspiration to me . . . to all of us."

"It was my fault." Ezra had to blink back the moisture that was forming in his eyes.

"Ezra, don't say that . . ."

The young padawan whipped his head to face her. "No, it _was_ my fault! If I hadn't been so _stupid_ , she'd still be alive and Kanan could still see . . . I thought I could actually _trust_ my instincts, but . . ." He trailed off, the moisture escaping his eyes and drizzling down his cheeks.

He felt Sabine's arms wrap around him, but he lacked the strength to return the embrace. He just rested his head on her shoulder, letting the tears flow.

"It's going to be all right, Ezra," she whispered.

Yes . . . it would be all right. Because if Ezra ever saw Vader again, the Sith would pay for what he did.


	4. Movie Night

AN: Thanks for reviewing!

 **Prompt 4 - Movie Night**

"This guy playing Dad is _lame."_

Both Leia and Han turned their attention away from the holofilm about the Rebellion's triumph against the Empire and to their eight-year-old son wedged between them on the couch. "What do you mean, Ben?" Leia asked.

"There're a _lot_ of things that could mean," Han muttered. "I can sure think of a few."

Ben ate a spoonful of the ice cream in his lap before he spoke. "His hair's too neat."

Han's head cocked and his eyebrow went up. "What?"

"His hair's too neat," Ben repeated, a dribble of melted ice cream running down his chin, which Leia quickly wiped away.

"Are you sayin' my hair ain't neat, son?"

Leia couldn't help but snicker. "Well, he _does_ have a point, Han. Maybe you should try using conditioner more often."

"No," said Ben, licking more ice cream off his spoon.

"There, see?" Han said in a triumphant voice, sporting his familiar cocky grin. "The kid knows his old man's got perfectly neat hair."

"Really?" said Leia. "Then why did he just say your actor's hair was _too_ neat?"

"Cause it is," Ben said nonchalantly. "Dad's hair is all messy and scruffy – like you're always sayin', Mom."

Now it was Leia sporting the cocky grin. "See, he agrees with _me_ that you should neaten it up."

"Nope," said Ben, digging his spoon around in his ice cream.

Her grin faded. "Nope? What do you mean _nope?"_

Ben finally looked up at his parents. "Cause Dad's hair's _supposed_ to be all messy and scruffy. It wouldn't be Dad's hair if it weren't." He pointed at the holovid. " _That's_ why this guy's hair is too neat."

Both Han and Leia were silenced by this. After twisting their mouths, they turned their attention back to the holofilm, where the Han actor was telling the Luke and Obi-Wan actors that he was charging ten thousand credits in advance, his too-neat hair glistening in the sun from the carefully-placed window behind him.

"When I grow up, I want hair just like Dad's," Ben suddenly spoke up. "All messy and scruffy!"

Han's cocky grin was back. "Well, you don't have to wait till you grow up for that!" With that, he dug his hand into his son's hair and messed it around with a playful growl, making Ben burst into giggles.

Leia good-naturedly rolled her eyes. "You know you guys are missing the holofilm, right?"

"That's okay," said Ben. "My _real_ dad's better than that fake one any day."


	5. Scream

AN: Thanks again for reviewing!

 **Prompt 5 - Scream**

Did Han have to scream so loud?

Lando took breath after breath, but he couldn't untighten his chest. He leaned his back against the wall, feeling as if his insides wanted to explode out of him.

Torture had _never_ been part of the deal – Vader had promised that the prisoners would be treated well. He'd have to assure Han that this was never part of the plan . . . not that Han would believe him. Han would probably never believe him about anything ever again.

He was still screaming.

Lando's mouth remained dry no matter how much he swallowed. He had no choice, he reminded himself. Hell, he didn't even know who the prisoners _were_ when he made the deal. It wasn't like they'd told him that this would require betraying his long-time friend.

Besides, even if he'd known who the prisoners would be ahead of time, he still wouldn't have had an actual _choice._ He had an entire city to run – a city where many innocent people lived. Hundreds of people were his responsibility – would it be right to leave them all to the mercy of the Empire just for the sake of one old friendship?

Han kept on screaming.

How long would this go on? Were they planning to torture Han until it killed him?

A gasp or two escaped Lando's mouth. No . . . no . . . they weren't going to kill Han . . . the bounty hunter wanted him alive, so surely they'd stop the torture before it killed him.

But then they would give him to the bounty hunter, and who knew what would happen to him then? Vader had mentioned something about Jabba the Hutt – shit, if Han had gotten in trouble with _that_ guy . . .

More screams, now sounding like his voice was cracking.

Why were they even _doing_ this? Did Han have some top-secret information that the Empire needed? What all had Han been up to in that Rebellion since he and Lando had parted ways?

Lando desperately licked his lips in a failed attempt to moisten them. He had no choice, he reminded himself. No choice, no choice, no choice. There was nothing he could do to stop it now. His friend's fate was beyond his control.

Han would hate him for the rest of his life and he would have to accept that. Being a leader meant making difficult sacrifices sometimes. When Han had first arrived, he'd laughed at how Lando actually sounded like a responsible leader.

Well he was right. Lando _was_ a responsible leader.

And being responsible in this case required ending a friendship to keep the city safe.

Still Han screamed, suffering the pain he needed to suffer for the city's sake.

It had to happen.

Lando had no choice.

And Han kept screaming.


	6. Darkness

AN: Thanks for the reviews!

 **Prompt #6 - Darkness**

"Master Skywalker, there are too many of them, what are we going to do?"

With those little words, Anakin's lightsaber ignited, the blue glow illuminating the boy's face, reflecting in his frightened eyes. The child jumped back, staring up at the Jedi. "M-Master Skywalker?" His voice had been reduced to a tiny squeak. The other younglings gathered around him were shaking, holding each other, also staring up at him as if he would be their one source of protection.

There was once a time when he would indeed be protecting them.

But that time was gone.

That _person_ was gone.

In one swift move, without uttering a word, Anakin thrust the blade through the boy's chest.

The other children erupted in screams and cries as his body fell with a final gasp, but Anakin gave no reaction. Their tears went unseen; their screams went unheard as he cut them down one after the other. Some tried to run, but Anakin had already locked them inside, trapping them in the room that overlooked the night skyline. Speeders zipped by outside, but if any drivers happened to look in the window, they either saw nothing or considered what was happening inside to be none of their business.

No one tried to help the children.

Finally their cries ceased – all had fallen victim to their former mentor's lightsaber. The newly-christened Sith simply stared down at the corpses sprawled over the floor for several seconds before he extinguished the blade, shrouding them in darkness.

But he didn't leave.

He stood there in the dark, still, silent, the vaguest of fleeting memories jumping through his mind.

The boy who'd first begged him for help sometimes begged Anakin for help with his Jedi history work.

A girl who was now slumped over a chair used to follow Anakin around, asking to hear stories about his adventures in the war.

Another girl whose lifeless eyes now blankly stared into nothing used to run down the halls of the temple, waving an imaginary lightsaber and pretending she was a grown-up Jedi Knight protecting the galaxy.

Another boy whose arms and legs were twisted in unnatural angles used to imitate Yoda's voice and manner of speech to make the other children laugh.

All dead now.

There was a slight twitching in the back of his mind, an uneasiness that, if he lingered on it, might have forced him to face what he had just done – how he had silenced all those small voices and cut short all those young lives.

But he pushed it away and buried it. They would have grown up to be traitors, just like all the other Jedi. Letting them live would have only risked another war – and perhaps in that war they would have actually succeeded in their plot.

This needed to happen.

No hesitation, no mercy.

Such was the way of the Sith.


	7. Insanity

AN: Thanks again for reviewing! Note: This chapter takes place in the universe of my fanfic "Without a Heart." If you haven't read it, well, in that story Han survives TFA due to Snoke thinking he could be useful, but the lightsaber in the chest left him unable to breathe on his own and as such the First Order had to implant a breathing apparatus in his chest and give him an artificial heart. Han spends a good amount of time in that story imprisoned by the First Order and strapped to a bunk. For more info, read the story.

 **Prompt 7 - Insanity**

They said insane people never questioned whether or not they were insane, and Han desperately thought that was true. It meant he hadn't lost his sanity yet.

Not _yet._

He wasn't sure how long his sanity would hold up, though. How long could one's sanity hold up when they were strapped down to a bunk for weeks on end with a breathing apparatus embedded in their chest?

Especially when the reason for everything was their own son?

A chill crept through his naked body, but he couldn't even pull the blanket up to cover himself. His side itched, but he couldn't even scratch it. He ground his teeth in an attempt to distract himself, but that only seemed to make the itch expand over his skin even further and the chill penetrate deeper into his body.

And of course, there was the breathing device's _sound._

In, out, in, out, in, out, forever in its cycle. Even if Han ever got out of here, which was extremely unlikely, he'd still have that _sound_ following him for the rest of his life.

"Leia . . ." he said in that raspy whisper that was now his voice, "you still can't hear me and you still think I'm dead, but I need you to keep me sane." His mouth twisted when he realized how that sounded. "Yeah, talkin' to people who ain't there – that's usually what people who _are_ insane do, isn't it? Shit, maybe I'm already insane."

No, no, he wasn't – insane people didn't question their sanity, right?

Right?

"It'd sure be nice if you _were_ here. If I could see that gorgeous face with that new hairstyle of yours, it might distract me from, well, all this. Your voice would sure help too."

Maybe if he finally _did_ go insane, his mind would create a delusion of her.

A sweet delusion of his wife . . .

Wait, what was he thinking? Was he _wishing_ he would go insane now?

Then again, when _this_ was the alternative, when his ugly reality was all sanity gave him, would a hallucination be so bad?

Or going even further, what if losing his sanity meant he wouldn't even know he was here anymore? If he could sink far enough into his mind and away from reality, maybe he could even forget about what happened to his son.

Could losing touch with the real world send him back to the happier days with his wife and his son, when there was no First Order, no Kylo Ren, no Snoke, and no stupid breathing apparatus. Back when he could actually _breathe_ and _move_ and his family was together . . . what would be so wrong about that? So what if it wasn't technically real?

Wait, what was he thinking? Of _course_ it mattered whether or not it was real.

Didn't it?

"Leia," he whispered again, "I'm startin' to wish I were insane. If you were here you'd probably say I'm already crazy anyway, but I'm serious here. I know you ain't here, but part of me wishes I didn't."

Talking to someone who wasn't there, then wishing he was insane. Those had to be steps on the way to actual insanity.

Maybe he was already insane.

No, no he couldn't be.

Insane people didn't question their sanity.


	8. Asylum

AN: This prompt was "asylum," which gave me the idea of Ben completely losing touch with reality after killing his father. Of course no one knows what his fate will be in future movies, so call this a "what if?" scenario.

 **Prompt 8 - Asylum**

The doctor led Leia into the padded room in which her son sat slumped against the spongey wall, staring ahead as if she weren't even there, hardly even blinking. His breath was coming out in low, quick snarls like an animal waiting to pounce on its unsuspecting prey.

"Ben?" Leia asked in the gentlest voice she could manage as she slowly sat next to him, her back almost sinking into the padding.

Ben just kept staring ahead as if he hadn't heard.

"Ben?" Leia repeated, wondering if touching him would spark recognition or rage. "Ben, it's Mom."

Still he stared ahead without acknowledging her presence. With a sigh, Leia leaned back into the padding, simply waiting for him to give some sign of consciousness for several minutes.

Finally he spoke, but it wasn't the word she was expecting.

"Dad?"

It was a small, frightened voice, but it was enough to make Leia's stomach jump. She had to swallow over and over before she was able to respond. "It's . . . it's Mom, Ben. Dad . . . well, Dad's not here."

"Dad?" Ben repeated, still staring ahead as if Han were on the other side of the room. "Dad, can we play taun-taun ride? We haven't played that in a while."

Leia's insides went cold. "Ben . . . I told you Dad's not here." She dared to risk a hand on his cheek. " _I'm_ here, Ben. It's Mom."

Finally he looked at her, blinking as if waking from a dream. "Mom . . ." he said as if she had just appeared out of thin air. "Where's Dad? Can I see Dad?"

The mother concentrated on not letting herself tremble. "No Ben, you can't see Dad."

"When can I see him?"

How was she supposed to answer that? How far did humoring his delusion go?

And how long could she pretend when her heart was screaming?

"I don't know," she finally whispered, squeezing her eyelids together in an effort to keep the tears inside.

"When Dad gets back, we can all play together," Ben said dreamily, a man's voice saying a child's words.

Leia's voice shook only slightly. "Yes, yes, we can all play together. We'll have fun, sweetheart."

"I can't wait." There was a hint of that little boy's smile in his lips as his fingers vaguely danced on his legs. "Maybe Dad will take me for a ride on the Falcon . . . he says I'm almost big enough to fly it."

Now Leia's voice had been reduced to a whisper. "Yes sweetheart, you are . . ."

"When do you think he'll be back?"

Leia couldn't keep herself from sniffling. _He's NOT coming back, Ben,_ her mind was screaming. _He's DEAD, don't you understand? YOU killed him!_

But none of those words came out. Instead she kissed her son's cold cheek, the cheek she had kissed a thousand times before.

"I-I'm sure he'll be back soon," she whispered. "He loves you too much to stay away for too long."


	9. Graveyard

AN: Thanks for reading and reviewing!

 **Prompt 9 - Graveyard**

"So . . . this was our mother."

Those were the only words Luke could utter as he stared at the large gravestone. He felt Leia squeeze his wrist, but he couldn't respond. He could only stare at the face elegantly carved in the stone – the long, curly hair, the slender face, the kind eyes, the freckle on her cheek.

"Yes," said Leia. "She's just like the face I saw in my dreams."

Luke kept staring into those stone eyes as if they would bring about some flash of recognition, some indication that yes, he knew her like Leia did, he dreamed about her too and just didn't remember it.

But no flash came.

He put his real hand on the stone, running his fingers over the bumps and ridges that made her face. Maybe part of him thought the Force might send a memory if he touched her image.

But again, nothing.

"Why?" he muttered.

"Hmm? Why what?"

"Why don't I remember her?" His finger traced his mother's jawline. "Why did you have those dreams but not me? I mean, she died in childbirth, right? Why did the Force let you remember her but not me?"

Leia squeezed her brother's shoulder. "I don't know."

 _I don't know._ Such a simple answer and such a useless one. Around and around Padme's jawline Luke's finger went and still no recognition. It was still a carving of a complete stranger.

"Luke," Leia suddenly said, "Aunt Sola has lots of recordings of her – maybe if you heard her voice you'd remember something."

Luke slowly turned to face his sister, seeing her awkward smile, sensing that she didn't actually think hearing their mother's voice would trigger a memory and she was just trying to make him feel better.

"Maybe," he said, though he was sure his disbelief was evident in his voice.

Leia sighed. "Luke, I don't know what else to say. I don't know why you don't remember her like I do – I just know she was a wonderful, caring woman and she loved us even though she only had a few minutes with us and she would be so proud of the person you are now and if things had turned out differently we could have had so many happy memories with her . . ."

Suddenly Luke put his finger on her lips. He shifted his gaze from his living sister to his dead mother and back again, seeing the resemblance between the two even when one of the faces was in stone.

A tiny smile formed on his face as his fingers slipped down from her lips. "Actually Leia, I think you said exactly the right thing."


	10. Rain

**Prompt 10 - Rain**

"Close your eyes, here comes the rain!" Han shouted as he poured warm water over Jaina's head, making his three-year-old daughter shriek and giggle.

"I want rain too!" Jacen called from the other end of the bathtub, splashing his hands in the sudsy water. "Daddy, gimmie rain too!"

"Okay," said Han, filling the container with water and blowing the suds off the top. "Close your eyes for the rain!" As he poured the water on Jacen's head, the toddler giggled so loudly that it echoed off the refresher walls.

"Daddy! More rain!" called Jaina.

Han sighed. "You guys _do_ know I'm gonna have to actually wash your hair at some point, right?"

"Rain!" Jaina insisted.

"All right, all right, but I wash your hair afterward."

He poured more water on Jaina's head, but then of course Jacen wanted more rain too, after which Jaina wanted even more rain and then Jacen wanted even more rain. They continued in this manner until Han felt like he had dumped the whole bathtub on their heads.

"All right, all right, that's ENOUGH rain!" he finally declared. "No more rain until your hair's washed, you got it?"

With that, the twins simultaneously stared up at their father, making their eyes as big and round and irresistible as possible.

"No . . ." Han said carefully, averting his eyes as if the twins would hypnotize him if he looked at them for too long. "No, no, no, I ain't fallin' for the cute eyes tonight. Your mother says I gotta be more assertive with you two, so that's what I'm gonna do."

"What's 'as-er-tiv'?" Jacen asked.

"It means she wants me to make sure you do what you're told," said Han.

"We _are,"_ said Jaina.

"Then let me wash your hair!" Han grabbed the bottle of fruit-scented children's shampoo from the edge of the bathtub. "Now, whoever goes first gets an extra dose of rain to rinse!"

"Me! Me!" both twins shouted at the same time, each one grabbing for the shampoo.

"Now wait, wait calm down . . ."

He didn't get a chance to finish his sentence, since the twins knocked the shampoo bottle out of his hand and into the water.

"Whoops!" exclaimed Jaina.

Han groaned. "Pick it up, guys."

"I don' wanna wash my hair!" shouted Jacen, folding his arms and giving a pout.

"Well if you don't wanna wash your hair, you don't get more rain."

Jaina blinked up at her father. "Daddy, are you grumpy?"

Han twisted his mouth at his daughter. "Yeah, a bit. Sometimes I get grumpy when you guys don't behave." He grinned down at his children. "Would you guys like to help me be _less_ grumpy?"

The twins nodded eagerly.

"Great!" said Han. "Now what do you think would help me not be so grumpy?"

The twins looked at each other and grinned, then looked back at their father.

"RAIN!" they shouted in unison.

Before Han could react, Jaina filled up the container with bath water and dumped it in Han's face, leaving him soaked and sputtering.

"Well . . ." Han coughed out, "that wasn't exactly what I had in mind."


	11. Nightmare

AN: Thanks for reviewing!

 **Prompt 11 - Nightmare**

Leia opened her eyes back in her familiar bed, the familiar nighttime lights of Coruscant shining through the window, her husband's familiar snoring next to her. Everything was normal again.

The past was once again in the past

She breathed in and out, in and out, in and out, savoring every deep, shaky breath in a vain attempt to calm herself as she rolled over to face her sleeping husband. Her mind could still see Bail and Breha saying goodbye to her before she left on her mission, telling her that they'd see her soon.

They'd see her soon . . .

She took another deep breath, seeing Alderaan's mountains behind her blinks, hearing the screams of the dying in her head. How could she still be having these dreams after so many years had gone by? She knew how to move on from past tragedies, didn't she?

Didn't she?

Han gave a particularly loud snore, making Leia want to roll her eyes. She never woke him when she dreamed about Alderaan. Why should she? He couldn't possibly even imagine what it was like to lose your entire _planet._

Besides, she wasn't some weakling who let something as stupid as a nightmare frighten her. She had seen far worse horrors in reality than the ones that played themselves out in people's subconscious minds.

Except that _her_ subconscious mind chose to make her live and relive those exact same horrors from reality.

Her hand vaguely slipped over Han's body and found his hand, squeezing it as tightly as she could without waking him. Once she had a grip on his hand, she suddenly found herself pulling his arm around her as if she wanted him to offer comfort without actually knowing it.

"Mmm . . . Leia? What're you doin'?"

Leia froze, still gripping his hand.

"You okay, hon?" His voice was drowsy and yet still full of that gentle understanding she knew so well.

"I'm . . . I'm fine," she forced out. "Go back to sleep."

Now his arm was moving on its own accord, wrapping around her and gently pulling her towards him, letting her smell his aftershave lotion. "You _sure_ you're fine?"

"What makes you think I'm not?" Leia's voice came out much softer than she had meant it to be.

"Maybe the fact that I woke up with you pullin' on my arm?"

Leia gulped, feeling his soothing hand rubbing her back, flashes of the nightmare still popping into her head. "I had a dream, that's all."

"Was it Alderaan?"

Her heart jumped at how quickly he had guessed. "What . . . what makes you say that?"

Han hesitated before speaking. "Well . . . I sometimes hear you dream about Alderaan."

Leia's muscles stiffened – suddenly she wished she knew how to put someone to sleep with the Force so she could knock Han out and spare herself this humiliation. "What are you talking about?" she hissed.

"Just . . . callin' out to your parents sometimes . . . or other times you're beggin' Tarkin not to destroy your planet. Never lasts long."

Her heartbeat sped up as if she had been thrust naked into a public place. She wanted to yell at her body for refusing to keep quiet during the dreams. "So you know?"

"Yeah. I mean, I would've told you, but I figured if you wanted me to know, you would've told me." His hand cupped around her head. "Listen sweetheart, it's okay. _Anyone_ would expect that day to haunt you sometimes. Doesn't change the fact that you're the bravest person I know."

Leia couldn't bring herself to answer.

Han ran his fingers through her hair. "Hey, that thing you do when I get nightmares, you want me to do it now?"

Leia took a deep breath. "All right."

With that, Han wrapped both his hands around her face and gave her a soothing, healing kiss.


	12. Inner Demons

AN: Thanks for reviewing!

 **Prompt 12 - Inner Demons**

There were many nights when Vader didn't sleep.

Sleep meant surrendering his mind to the unknown and breaking down the barriers so carefully placed around his old memories. When awake he was in control of everything – his men, his orders, his mind – but when asleep he lost that control, so he only slept when his body demanded sleep so loudly that it was impossible to ignore it.

Most of the nights when he didn't sleep were spent in his meditation chamber, where the high concentration of oxygen meant he could temporarily remove his helmet. That was where he was now, breathing in long, slow heaves, savoring the taste of actual _air,_ emptying his mind of everything except this sweet sensation . . .

 _"_ _It seems that in your anger, you killed her . . ."_

His eyes shot open – he hadn't even realized they were closed. Quickly he took another long breath, letting it out increment by increment. No, no, he was in control of his mind, the past didn't exist . . .

The past was dead.

 _"_ _It seems that in your anger, you killed her . . ."_

 _"_ _YOU killed her . . ."_

His head jerked upward, gasping in the highly concentrated oxygen, burning what little was left of his lungs. He blinked over and over, forcing himself to focus on the real world and drive away the demons in his mind.

Remembering the past made him vulnerable.

Vulnerability meant weakness.

And Vader wasn't weak.

It was _Anakin_ who was weak, _Anakin_ whose failure to act had led to death, _Anakin_ who needed to be destroyed.

Which was why Vader destroyed him a long time ago.

Anakin Skywalker was dead.

Except in Vader's sleep. In sleep Anakin was a parasite, creeping around in Vader's mind, always waiting to strike.

No longer a living soul, but an inner demon.


	13. To Be Human

**Prompt 13 - To Be Human**

Sometimes R2 wondered what exactly it was that separated droids from humans. It seemed to be something different from what separated humans from other species – while organic creatures came in all different shapes and appearances, humans still seemed to treat them like equals most of the time.

Not like how they treated droids.

So the line between humans and droids wasn't appearance. It wasn't speech, either – though R2 and other astro droids couldn't speak Basic, other droids like 3PO could. Humans would carry on conversations with protocol droids as if they were equals even though they weren't.

So where _was_ the line? Just what gave organic creatures authority over droids?

Of course R2 knew he was built by humans, but humans also made their offspring and _they_ were treated as equals. The offspring started out vulnerable and in need of guidance, but after they had grown and learned enough to function on their own, the humans who made them no longer had authority over them.

Unlike with droids.

R2 also knew he was lucky to have such a benevolent owner as Master Luke. Master Luke was kind to him and 3PO – in fact, if there was any human who treated droids almost as equals, it was Master Luke.

In fact, Master Luke probably inherited his kindness towards droids from his father. R2 remembered how Master Anakin had once risked everything to save him even though most humans would have just left their droid to its fate.

But even though Master Luke talked to his droids as if they were friends and repaired them and cleaned them and took the best care of them, he was still _Master_ Luke (as 3PO never let R2 forget). R2 was still bound to serve him and do his bidding, and the fact that his bidding was always reasonable didn't change that.

Humans and other organic beings often talked about being "sentient." Maybe that was the line between droids – to hear them talk it sounded like they didn't think that term applied to droids. From what R2 could gather, it meant "self-aware," though R2 wasn't sure exactly what "self-aware" meant or why it applied to organic beings and not droids.

Did it mean, "aware that the self exists"? If that was so, then R2 certainly knew he existed, so it would apply to droids.

Maybe it meant "aware of the self's inner mind." Well there were certainly organic beings such as Jabba the Hutt who seemed to think droids had no consciousness (although Jabba didn't seem to care much for organic beings either), but R2 knew he had inner circuits that worked much like the human brain. He was also as aware of his surroundings as any other conscious being.

In fact, R2 couldn't think of any interpretation of the term "self-aware" that wouldn't apply to droids, but maybe that was because he was only a droid. Maybe it was a concept that droids _couldn't_ understand no matter how much thought processing they put into it.

But even if that was the case, R2 would keep pondering it.

What did it mean to be human?


	14. High Heels

AN: Thanks as always for reviewing!

 **Prompt 14 - High Heels**

"Han . . . what are you doing?"

Han was wobbling into the living room, balancing precariously in a pair of Leia's high heel shoes – the white ones with the six-inch heels. "What's it _look_ like I'm doin', sweetheart?" He hobbled a few more steps before grabbing a chair for support.

Leia folded her arms, shaking her head. "Well it _looks_ like you're wearing my shoes."

"Yup, that's right." Han gave his familiar crooked grin, still gripping the chair as his feet shook from side to side. "How do they look on me?"

"Like they're about to break," said Leia. "And _why_ are you wearing them?"

"What, you don't think they look good on me? I'm hurt."

Leia was starting to wonder if this was some kind of practical joke. "Did Ben glue those on you when you were sleeping or something?"

"What? No, nothin' like that."

"Then _why_ are you wearing them?"

"You say that like a guy can't wear high heels if he wants to," His feet were still shaking as if his ankles were about to break under him. "Don't you believe in equal opportunity?"

"Of course I do, but I didn't think _you_ were the kind of guy who liked high heels."

Han was gritting his teeth and gripping the chair as if it was the only thing that would keep him from falling off a cliff. "Sweetheart, you should know by now that I'm full of surprises."

His foot suddenly slid out from under him, but the chair broke his fall, though he still ended up awkwardly leaning over it.

"Shit, Han," Leia exclaimed, "take those off - you're going to hurt yourself!"

Han looked up at her with a sheepish grin. "Well, now that you mention it, I probably _should_ take 'em off before they break." He slid down into the chair as if he were sinking into a warm, inviting bath. "How the hell do you stand these things?"

"Oh? I thought you _liked_ high heels."

Han sighed. "Okay, it was a bet. Apparently during guys' night out last night, Lando challenged me to wear your heels."

"And let me guess – you were either too drunk or too stupid to say no, right?"

"Probably," said Han, "not that I remember it. Lando just called me up to remind me that if I didn't put on your heels, I'd have to buy him drinks for a month."

Leia shook her head. "Han, Han, Han, what am I going to do with you?"

Han leaned over, attempting to pull one of the shoes off without any success. "Well, you could help me get these things off?"

"Why? They look so _dazzling_ on you."

"C'mon hon, you know a guy's gotta honor his bets."

"Even bets you make when you're so drunk that you don't remember making them?"

" _Especially_ those."


	15. Death

AN: Thanks again for reviewing! Here's another "what if?" scenario involving Ben. In this one he actually ended up redeeming himself and even settled down and had a child, but the past forever haunts him.

 **Prompt 15 - Death**

"Daddy," five-year-old Hanna said, skipping up to her father, her dark brown curls bouncing around her shoulders, "tell me about Grandpa."

Ben swallowed as he pulled his daughter up into his lap. She was _always_ wanting to hear about the grandfather she was named after. No matter how much Ben told her, it was never enough.

Maybe she could sense through the Force that there was something he _hadn't_ told her.

"Well, sweetheart," Ben began after clearing his throat, "your grandpa was very brave. He helped defeat the Empire and free the galaxy."

"I know," Hanna said with a rapid nod, twisting Ben's stomach – little did the child know how much _those_ words meant to her grandparents. "Tell me more!"

"Your grandpa was very funny," Ben continued. "He was always making me laugh when I was little. Telling jokes, using funny voices, all that stuff. He also had the fastest ship in the galaxy . . ."

"The M'wenum Falcon," Hanna interrupted. "It's Uncle Chewie's now."

"That's right," said Ben, ruffling his daughter's hair. "He took me for rides on it all the time." He swallowed again. "I bet if he were still here, he'd take you for rides too."

"That's okay," said Hanna, giving the crooked grin she'd inherited from her grandfather. "Uncle Chewie does."

"Yeah, he does . . ."

"Daddy, would Grandpa like me?"

Now Ben couldn't help but smile. "Are you kidding? He'd _love_ you. He'd probably be spoiling you rotten." He tickled his daughter's stomach, making her hoot out in laughter. "In fact, he'd probably get you so many treats and take you on so many outings that your grandma would be telling him to stop spoiling you so much."

Hanna giggled. "Grandma misses him, doesn't she?"

Ben's smile fell, the twist back in his stomach. "Yes . . . she misses him every day."

"Daddy, how did Grandpa die?"

All of a sudden, Ben's eyes reflexively squeezed shut, his mouth sucking in a gasp through his teeth. Behind his eyelids, he saw his father's desperate face, heard his pleading voice begging him to come home.

And he saw himself thrusting the lightsaber through his father's chest.

"Daddy?"

Ben opened his eyes, but still he saw Han use his very last bit of strength to touch his cheek and communicate forgiveness even after his son had murdered him . . .

"Daddy? You okay?"

Ben sniffled, blinking rapidly in a failed attempt to keep his eyes from moistening. "Your . . . your grandpa died trying to save me from a very bad man named Kylo Ren. Kylo Ren had captured me and . . . and your grandpa tried to save me, but Kylo Ren killed him."

The little girl swallowed, reaching up and touching her father on the same cheek where Han had given his last touch all those years ago. "Kylo Ren sounds really bad."

He sniffled again. "Yes, he was." He wrapped his arms around her. "But don't worry, Kylo Ren's dead now. And he's _never_ coming back."


	16. Spider

**Prompt 16 - Spider**

"Leia, get in here . . . get in here NOW!"

Leia rushed towards the refresher, wondering from her husband's panicked tone if he had hurt himself. "Han, what? What is it?"

Han was standing near the door, staring in the direction of the tub, pointing at the tub with a shaking finger.

Leia cocked her head. "The _bathtub?_ You called me here to point at the _bathtub?"_

"Not the _tub,_ " Han gasped, his voice coming out almost in a squeak. "Don't you see it?"

"See what?" Leia cocked her head again. "What's going on?"

"The _spider!"_ Han shouted, his breath coming in and out in tiny heaves as if her were hyperventilating

Leia squinted at the tub and finally she spotted the tiny spider crawling up the tub wall. "That's it? You called me here for a _spider?"_

"Of _course,"_ Han said as if the spider were a detonator. "Get rid of it, quick!"

Leia tried to keep herself from laughing, but she couldn't stop a few snickers from escaping. She ran her hand up and down her husband's backbone. "My brave husband, general in the Rebellion, pilot through asteroids – and terrified of spiders. Don't worry, I don't _think_ it's going to freeze you in carbonite. Yet."

"Not funny," said Han, his muscles tensed up under Leia's fingers.

"Oh come on, you have to admit it's a _little_ bit funny."

"Yeah, well _you_ gasp when you hear balloons pop and I don't make fun of you for _that_."

"True," was all Leia said before kissing her husband's cheek. "There there, don't worry, I'll protect you from the scary spider." She left her husband's side and made her way to the tub, grabbing a piece of toilet paper on the way. "Come on, spider," she said, "you're scaring my husband."

"You're not gonna kill it?" Han exclaimed.

Leia shook her head as she picked the spider up and gently wrapped in it the toilet paper. "I didn't like killing bugs when I was little and it just became a habit to let them go outside."

"But it could come _back!"_

"Then I'll just send it out again," said Leia. "Now you might want to close your eyes – I'm going to have to pass you with the spider."

Han closed his eyes, trembling and gritting his teeth as he did so.

It only took a minute for Leia to set the spider free, but when she returned she found her husband still in the same place, his eyes still closed and his teeth still gritted. "It's safe now," she announced. "You can open your eyes."

"It's gone?"

"It's gone."

Han opened his eyes and let out a long exhale as if he'd been holding his breath the whole time. "Leia, did I ever tell you you're my hero?" He gripped her face and kissed her forehead. "How can I thank you?"

Leia grinned. "Well, you can make sure Ben doesn't have any balloons at his birthday party."


	17. Insomnia

**Prompt 17 - Insomnia**

Han yawned, partly on purpose in hopes that it would help put him to sleep. He had been lying awake, turning from one side to the other, listening to his pregnant wife's gentle sleep-breathing, for who knew how long. Wasn't it supposed to be the _wife_ who had trouble sleeping during a pregnancy, not the husband?

She was due any day now. In fact, her due date was three days ago and ever since then Han had found himself jumping at every sound she made, wondering if the baby would come pushing itself out of her before there was even time to get to the hospital.

If that _did_ happen, would he have to deliver the baby himself?

What was he even supposed to _do_ when delivering a baby?

He shuddered, making the bed creak. No, no, that wouldn't happen, they'd get to the hospital on time, Leia would be in the hands of trained professionals and well-built medical droids, not a former smuggler who wouldn't know what the hell he was doing.

But still, Han would be expected to provide moral support and he couldn't very well do that if he fell asleep during her labor, so that was all the more reason to get to sleep now. He took slow, deep breath after slow, deep breath, listening to the air coming in and out, in and out, in and out . . .

What kind of father would he be?

No, no, don't think about that, keep breathing, go to sleep . . .

Maybe he'd spoil the kid rotten, or maybe he'd ruin the kid's life.

No, go to sleep, go to sleep, _go to sleep!_

Now he tried listening to his wife's slow, even breath. In and out, in and out, in and out, just like his own breathing . . .

How much pain would she be in during labor? Would she be screaming in agony like in holofilms?

No! Stop thinking about that and _GO TO SLEEP!_

Han rolled over again, wrapping himself in the covers. Maybe some warm blue milk would make him sleepy, but that would require getting out of bed and he was feeling glued to the bed. Why couldn't he just go to sleep instantly whenever he wanted to? Why did he have to wait for his body to shut his mind down for him?

What would the baby look like? Would it have Leia's eyes like he hoped?

No, _STOP_ thinking about the baby!

It would be a big baby if the size of Leia's stomach was any indication.

No Han, _go to sleep!_

He didn't think he'd ever held a baby before . . . what if he tried to hold his child and dropped it?

 _GO TO SLEEP!_

Maybe Han went for hours in this state or maybe it was only a few minutes, but at long last he started to drift off, sinking down, down, down into sweet slumber.

The next thing he felt was Leia's hand on his shoulder.

"Han, wake up, I think the baby's coming!"


	18. Dominant Player

AN: Thanks for reviewing!

 **Prompt 18 - Dominant Player**

"Awww," Han said in a nasally voice as baby Ben pinched his nose. "You're a strong little guy, ain't you?"

Ben gave a happy coo, still holding his father's nose.

"Leia!" Han called, still in the nasally voice, "C'mon, you gotta see this!"

Leia rushed into the living room and grinned when she saw her husband on the sofa with her son pinching his nose. "I see someone's already letting the baby dominate him."

"Hey sweetheart," said Han, Ben still pinching his nose, "he's just havin' fun."

"That's how it always starts," said Leia. "You let him have a little bit of _fun_ and then suddenly he's the one telling you what to do instead of the other way around."

"C'mon, sweetheart, he's too young to be spoiled."

Ben babbled loudly as if agreeing with his father while pinching harder on his nose.

"Ow!" Han exclaimed. "You're _really_ strong, you know that?"

Leia gave a small laugh. "All right, if Ben's _not_ lording over you right now, get him to let go of your nose."

"No problem." Han turned his focus to his son, who was still grabbing his nose as if it were a toy. "Okay Ben, I know you're havin' fun, but it's time to let go of Daddy's nose."

Ben only giggled and pinched even harder.

"Ow . . . ow . . . Ben," said Han. "You're hurting Daddy, you don't wanna do that."

Leia snickered. "You _do_ know he can't understand you yet, right?"

"Course I do," said Han, realizing that he was getting tired of breathing through his mouth. He reached up and gently gripped his son's wrist. "Now c'mon Ben, playtime with Daddy's nose is over."

He pulled, but Ben's grip held firm, still tightly pinching Han's nose and making it hurt even more. "Leia," Han sputtered, "did the kid get glue on his fingers before he touched me or somethin'?"

"Nope," said Leia, her grin now stretching to its physical limit. "He just likes your nose _that_ much. I told you you were spoiling him."

Han groaned loudly. "Ben, this ain't funny anymore – it's time to let go of Daddy's nose!"

Ben giggled as if this were all a big game, still refusing to let go.

"Well, you could always surgically remove him," Leia said with a smirk.

"Ben," Han said as firmly as he could with his nostrils pinched shut, "you're gonna let go now, ya hear?" He gripped the baby's torso with both his hands and started pulling back. "You may be a strong kid, but your daddy's stronger."

"For now," chimed Leia.

It took what seemed like several moments, but Han finally managed to yank Ben back far enough for his hands to slip off of his nose, which left his skin sore.

"Leia, we gotta trim his nails," he muttered, flinching from the pain.

Leia gently took Ben into her own arms. "I told you he was already walking over you."


	19. Teeth

**Prompt 19 - Teeth**

Leia opened the door to the Falcon's refresher expecting to find it empty, so naturally she jumped back when she found it occupied by Han.

"Oh, Han," she stammered. "I'm sorry, I thought the refresher was free . . . I mean, the door wasn't locked or anything."

Han, who had been in the middle of brushing his teeth, looked towards the refresher door with the toothbrush still in his mouth and a white line of toothpaste between his lips. His pajama top's first few buttons were open, exposing a bit of his chest. After staring at her with wide eyes for a moment, he gestured to the side as if inviting her in.

Leia cleared her throat as she hesitantly stepped in, scooting past Han as he resumed brushing his teeth. The refresher was cramped with two people, which meant she had to stand rather uncomfortably close to him.

Maybe it was inappropriate – it probably was – but she found herself staring over at Han as he kept brushing in quick motions as if determined to get every last bit of plaque off his teeth. But why was she staring? It wasn't like Han was doing anything interesting – in fact, toothbrushing was about as mundane as things got.

But maybe that was exactly why it was fascinating her to see Han do it – because it was so normal and mundane . . . and something normally done without anyone watching.

Finally he spat into the sink and rinsed his mouth and brush with water from the faucet. "Sorry bout that, Your Highness," he said as he put his toothbrush back on the sink.

"Why wasn't the door locked?"

Han shrugged. "Not a habit of mine – Chewie usually knocks." He smirked at her in the mirror. "Since we're stuck on this asteroid for at least a few days, you'd better get used to livin' with two guys."

"All right, so long as you get used to locking the door," said Leia. "I mean, you're lucky you were just brushing your teeth when I walked in – you could have been on the toilet."

"What, princesses don't know how to knock?"

"And smugglers don't know how to lock doors?"

Han's mouth twisted. "Okay, truth is the lock on that door's been broken for ages and I never got around to fixin' it."

 _"_ _What?"_ Leia shouted as the implications of that statement came over her. How many times had she been in this refresher without realizing the lock was broken?

It could have been Han who walked in on _her._

Seeing her exasperated expression in the mirror, Han burst out laughing. "See princess, that's why we knock."

"Why the hell haven't you fixed the lock?"

"Cause I wanted to see the look on your face when you found out it was broken," Han said with a smirk.

"You're joking, right?"

"Maybe. Hey, would you like to watch me shave?"


	20. Vulnerable

**Prompt 20 - Vulnerable**

Ben lay in bed, curled up in a fetal position, his body shaking, his eyes moist. The nightmares kept coming, night after night after night. Sometimes there were shadows attacking him. Sometimes _he_ was the shadow and no one could see him no matter how loudly he cried out. Other times he was frozen in place, unable to move as a monster devoured his family. No matter what the specific circumstances, he could never do anything about the scary stuff about to happen.

He was always helpless.

He couldn't stop the nightmares when he was awake, either. Mommy and Daddy's lullabies didn't chase them away, nor did Daddy's bedtime stories or Mommy's meditation techniques. The warm blue milk, the sleeping medicines, Mommy and Daddy's hugs and kisses – _nothing_ worked.

Sometimes Ben was afraid to go to sleep.

He rocked back and forth, creaking his mattress. Mommy and Daddy's room was just down the hall and they always let him sleep with them whenever he wanted, but they couldn't protect him from the dreams. Once he was inside his mind, he was _alone._

Why couldn't he stop the nightmares? He should be able to just tell them to go away, like the time Daddy had chased away a monster living under his bed.

"Nightmares can't hurt you, sweetheart," Mommy often said. "It's just your mind playing pretend while you sleep."

But Ben knew better.

 _"_ _You don't have to be so vulnerable, Ben . . ."_

The deep, whispering voice in his mind said it so gently, almost as gently as Mommy or Daddy would. Ben didn't know the voice's name, but sometimes it would speak to him in the dead of night. The voice had warned him long ago never to tell anyone about their conversations or else it would have to go away forever, so Ben had obeyed. It was like having a secret friend all to himself.

"B-but I don't know how to make the scary dreams go away," Ben whispered.

 _"_ _You will,"_ said the voice. _"_ _The Force is strong with you – you have the blood of Darth Vader himself running through your veins. In time, you will be stronger than even he was."_

"Darth Vader? But Mommy and Daddy say . . ."

 _"_ _Your parents are too afraid to realize where true power comes from. They think they can protect you from the horrors out there, but they are too weak to do that. Only YOU have the strength to drive away the fear."_

"But how?"

 _"_ _Put your trust in the Force."_

"Like Uncle Luke says?"

 _"_ _No, not like your uncle. He is weak too. He too fears true power."_

Ben gulped, wrapping himself tighter in the covers.

 _"_ _Be patient, Ben. Soon you will be powerful enough to drive the nightmares away. You will be stronger than your parents."_

"Wh-when? When will the dreams go away?"

"Ben?" Leia's voice suddenly called from outside his room. "Are you all right?"

Ben took a deep breath. "Y-yes, Mommy."

"Were you talking to someone?"

 _"_ _Remember our agreement, Ben. Never tell anyone about us or I'll have to go away and you will be weak for the rest of your life."_

Ben gulped again. "Just my toys, Mommy."


	21. Obsession

AN: Thanks again for reviewing!

 **Prompt 21 - Obsession**

Han wondered how long Leia's hair was.

When he first met her, her hair was bundled up in two thick buns over her ears, a sign of her Alderaanian royalty. Then at the medal ceremony, she had changed it to a long braid wrapped around her head and then dangling down her back. Nowadays she usually wore it in tight braids pinned up to her head.

How could one head of hair fit into all three of those vastly different hairstyles? Wouldn't hair long enough to dangle down her back be unwieldy to fit into those tight braids?

Then again, maybe she cut it since the medal ceremony.

That seemed like the most obvious answer, but that still raised the question about how her hair had fit into those buns.

He hoped she _hadn't_ cut it, though.

What did she look like with her hair down? When she undid those braids at night, did her hair fall down over her shoulders and back in thick clumps or thin strands? Maybe it also fell over her face. He found himself imagining her eyes peeking out from behind a thick curtain of brown hair.

And how long did it take her to braid her hair up in the morning? Maybe she had to get up extra early just to do her hair.

Now he imagined her nimble fingers working through all that hair, gathering it strands, tying it in braids, pinning it to her scalp . . .

Then again, maybe she slept in the braids to save herself the work, but she'd still have to let her hair down _sometimes,_ right?

What would her hair feel like if he touched it? Would it be coarse? Fine? Silky? Oily? He knew she used a flowery-scented shampoo thanks to getting a few whiffs in passing. Did it take her a while to shampoo all that hair?

White, sudsy shampoo decking that brown hair, the white and brown contrasting and complementing each other . . .

Those nimble fingers of hers rubbing the shampoo into her scalp . . .

How hard _was_ it to braid that hair of hers?

Could Han do it if she wanted him to?

Sure he could. He could take handfuls of that hair, separate it into bunches, layer those bunches one over the other over the other, work them between his fingers.

Her hair probably got tangled a lot. How long did it take to comb? Maybe Leia had to lose even more sleep in order to comb her hair properly.

Those hands again working with that hair, this time pulling apart tangles that had been too tough for the comb . . .

Could Han comb her hair as well as braid it?

Of course he could.

And if Leia ever asked him for help with her hair, he wouldn't hesitate for a second.


	22. Creation

AN: Thanks for reviewing!

 **Prompt 22 - Creation**

Anakin wiped the grease off his hands with a dirty rag as he stood back to get a good look at his new creation. It wasn't finished – the circuitry was still exposed – but the inner workings were complete. The droid would function now – at least he was pretty sure it would. He had been working on it for months – scraping together the spare parts, putting them together, programming the droid's functions. It would be a shame if it didn't work now and all his work would be for nothing.

He took a deep breath. All he needed to do now was turn the droid on and he'd know whether the project was a success or failure.

Just turn it on . . .

Anakin found himself staring at the dormant droid for several minutes, looking into its lifeless eyes. Would those eyes light up when he turned the droid on, or would they remain lifeless?

Or what if they lit up, but the droid still didn't work right? Maybe the droid would short-circuit immediately after being turned on and collapse on its spindly little legs.

Should Anakin make its legs sturdier before turning it on? Or maybe he hadn't wired it right. Maybe he had done something wrong and it would _explode_ when it turned on.

No, no, he was being ridiculous, wasn't he?

Anyway, he would never know what was going to happen until he turned the droid on.

He swallowed, still gazing up at the droid's empty eyes. It – no, _he,_ Anakin had given it a male voice chip – seemed to be looking back down at Anakin from the void of dormancy, begging for the gift of life.

"All right, 3PO," Anakin said, "you're ready. You're gonna be a big help to Mom and a great friend. I worked real hard to build you, so you're not gonna explode on me, right?"

The droid just stood there, his eyes still empty, still longing for life.

Were droids actually alive? They could walk and talk and interact with people. Even the ones who didn't talk still acted alive, so Anakin didn't see any reason to think they _weren't_ alive, but he heard grownups talk about them as if they weren't alive. Droids were bought and sold like possessions.

But then again, Anakin and his mother were definitely alive and they were owned like possessions too.

Finally Anakin took another deep breath. This was it – he couldn't stall any longer.

"Here we go, 3PO," he said. "It's time to come to life."

He reached up and flicked the switch to turn 3PO on. The lights in the droid's chest and eyes suddenly burst to life as his circuitry buzzed and sizzled. For a moment Anakin worried that the droid _would_ explode, but then 3PO spoke, using the voice chip Anakin had specially picked out.

"Oh, hello there. I am C-3PO, human-cyborg relations."

"Yippie!"


	23. Fifty Percent

**Prompt 23 - Fifty Percent**

"All right, heads: you do the dishes. Tails: I do them."

Han groaned, scraping at his empty plate with his fork. "Leia, I ain't sure this is fair."

"Why not?" asked Leia, rolling the coin between her fingers. "It's a fifty-fifty chance either way – that seems like the fairest way to settle things."

"Yeah? Well maybe you should take into account that I've been watchin' two toddlers and one baby all day and I'm dead tired."

Leia smirked over at baby Anakin, who was still in his highchair and finishing his juice from his sippy cup. "Really?" she asked. "Then maybe _you_ should take into account that _I've_ been in senate meetings all day and _I'm_ dead tired."

Han groaned again. "We wouldn't even be havin' this conversation if the dishwasher weren't broken.

"Yeah, well the dishwasher wouldn't be broken if _someone_ hadn't stuck his toys in there."

"Hey, that was Jacen, not me!"

"And like you just said, you're the one in charge of the kids when I'm at work."

Han kneaded his fingers into his forehead. "You know we've got three kids, right? When they all get outta control at the same time, it's kinda hard to keep a hand on all of 'em. Sides, the twins were _supposed_ to be takin' a nap when that happened."

"And were _you_ napping with them again?"

Han only clenched his teeth.

"All right," said Leia, again rolling the coin between her fingers and getting the attention of Anakin, who followed its movement with his little eyes. "I still think this is the fairest way to solve things. Fifty-fifty chance."

"I never like those kinda odds."

"Oh? You prefer odds like 725 to one?"

"Yeah, cause I beat those kinda odds more often than fifty-fifty odds."

Leia had to snicker at that. "Come on, one flip and it's over."

"Okay," said Han, "then if it's so fair, let me flip the coin?"

"What? Why should _you_ flip it when _I've_ already got it?" Leia had to quickly raise the coin out of Anakin's reach when the baby grabbed for it.

"Oh? You afraid I'll rig the toss or somethin'?

"Of course not, I just don't see any reason to let you flip it."

"Cause _you_ wanna rig the toss?"

"Han, don't be a baby."

"Hey, which one of us can use the Force? It's a perfectly valid concern."

By now Anakin was giggling as if watching his parents argue was a big entertainment for him.

"All right," Leia finally said, "you can flip it, but I _watch_ you flip it." She put the coin on the table on its edge and rolled it in Han's direction. "Flip away."

"Okay!" Han said with a grin as he took the coin and balanced it on the end of his fist. "Heads, I do dishes, tails, you do 'em."

He flicked his thumb up and the coin went flying, flipping around and around in the air. Anakin giggled again, clapping his little hands as the coin fell. It landed on the table and spun around and around and around and finally toppled . . .

. . . and landed tails-side up.

Both Han and Leia looked down at the coin for a moment before Han looked back up with his cocky grin firmly planted in his face. "Well sweetheart, guess that settles it. You can do the dishes while the kids and I go watch the holovid." He rose from his seat and circled the table to get Anakin out of his highchair, but he had barely gotten the baby out of the seat when Leia squeezed his shoulder and gave him her princess face.

"Best two out of three?"


	24. Mirror

**Prompt 24 - Mirror**

Han didn't usually spend much time in front of the mirror. Refresher sinks had mirrors over them, so he'd be in front of a mirror when washing his hands or shaving or brushing his teeth, but otherwise mirrors didn't hold much interest for him. It wasn't like he cared much about styling his hair or making sure his clothes looked right. As far as he was concerned, comfort was more important than style and only stuffy-headed people thought otherwise.

But here he was, staring at himself in the refresher mirror and not tending to any hygienic needs. He noticed the scraggly hairs sticking out of place and the chapped lips. He ran his hand through his hair as if attempting to smooth out those stray hairs, but they just popped back out as soon as his hand freed them.

Did any of the guys in this Rebellion have any hair gel he could borrow? Wait, what was he thinking? He had never used hair gel in his life and he sure as hell wasn't going to start now.

After all, it was just a simple little medal ceremony.

The first time he had ever gotten a medal in his life.

In fact, the first time he had ever been awarded _anything_ in his life.

He gazed at the outfit his reflection was wearing. His normal clothes – his favorite outfit, in fact – but would the Rebellion consider a wrinkly old white shirt and black vest to be proper attire for a medal ceremony?

Shit, why was he even _thinking_ like this? Had the kid and the princess gotten to his head not just with their ideals, but their fashion sense as well? If his normal look wasn't good enough for this Rebellion, that was _their_ problem. He sure wasn't going to wear some pinchy, itchy military uniform.

Not even if the princess wore some fancy-schmancy royal gown.

Not even if the fancy-schmancy royal gown made her look so beautiful it would be depressing.

Of course, she didn't _need_ a fancy gown for that part.

He ran his hand through his hair again. When was the last time he'd shampooed? Well, he wasn't going to wear that stupid hair gel stuff, but he could probably manage a quick shower before the ceremony.

And _maybe_ he'd even comb his hair if he had time.

But no hair gel.


	25. Wildflowers

**Prompt 25 - Wildflowers**

"Leia, your parents had real good taste in vacation spots," Han said as he lay back on the picnic blanket.

Leia snickered. "Well, it wasn't exactly a _vacation_ spot so much as a hiding-from-assassins spot."

"Details," said Han, reaching over and plucking a deep purple flower. "Sides, they probably still vacationed her after they were married."

"Probably."

Han held the flower up to his nose and inhaled deeply, savoring the sweet odor. "Mmm, Leia, this smells like you."

Leia lay down next to Han, gazing up at the clouds and remembering how she and her adopted parents had often looked for pictures in Alderaan's clouds. Naboo's clouds were similarly puffy and ever-changing and even without trying Leia could see a womp rat and then a mountain similar to Alderaan's.

Maybe in another reality, one where Anakin never turned to the dark side and Padme never died, they would have taken her and Luke to this very spot and they would have all looked for pictures in the clouds together. They might have picked flowers and chased butterflies and rolled down the hills . . .

But then she wouldn't have had a childhood with the Organas.

Her throat suddenly tightened. In a world where the old Republic never fell and no Empire rose and millions of lives were saved . . . the people her heart called her mother and father wouldn't be her mother and father. Bail and Breha might have only been people she saw in passing – or maybe she wouldn't even know them at all.

All those childhood memories – watching the sun rise between Alderaan's mountains, Bail and Breha teaching her to skate on the lake by the palace, she and her parents chasing each other down the halls of the palace – would never exist. There would be different memories, of course, and she would probably cherish them as much in that alternate reality as she cherished her Alderaaan memories now, but they wouldn't be the _same_ memories.

Suddenly she realized that Han was waving the flower in front of her face.

"Hey Leia," he was saying, "you okay?"

"Oh, I'm fine," said Leia, reaching up and brushing her fingers against the petals. "I was just thinking."

"Bout what?"

Leia let out a long sigh. "About a world where the Republic never fell and Luke and I grew up with our birth parents."

"You mean a world where we never met?" There was a hint of horror in Han's voice.

Leia sighed again. "Yeah, I guess we wouldn't have met if the Empire hadn't risen . . . but then Alderaan wouldn't have been destroyed and countless people wouldn't have died in the war. If I'd lived a different life with different parents and maybe even a different husband."

"Wait, _different husband?"_

Leia grabbed the flower from Han and sniffed it – it really _did_ smell like the Alderaanian soap she used. "I'm sorry, but if that were my reality, I wouldn't know anything about this reality and so I'd never miss it, and the galaxy would be better off . . ."

"You don't _know_ that," said Han. "There are a million billion trillion variables in the universe. You can think all you want about alternate realities, but _this_ is the reality we have." He squeezed her hand. "No matter what could have happened differently, this is what _did_ happen.

Leia squeezed his hand back. "Han, have you ever looked for pictures in the clouds?"

"If I did, I don't remember it."

"Then let me show you how."


	26. Possession

**Prompt 26 - Possession**

Material possessions were supposed to be forbidden for the Jedi. The closest thing to a possession that they were allowed was a lightsaber, but even that was meant only as a tool, not something they were supposed to get attached to. Even clothing was supposed to be pain and functional and not something to show off.

Anakin, however, was always finding ways to bend the Jedi rules.

He had already broken one of their most important rules and gotten married, after all, so what difference would a few material possessions make? Especially when he could hide them in a drawer in Padme's apartment?

Was it really so horrible that Padme had given him a holobook about podracing for his birthday? What harm could come from reading about famous podracers?

Or what about the dried flowers from Naboo? Every so often he took them out of the drawer and smelled them, but did that make him any less of a Jedi?

And did it really matter that he had saved Ahsoka's padawan beads to remember his former padawan with? If the Jedi Council knew about it, they would probably scold him for giving in to his attachment, but what was wrong with remembering an old friend and missing her?

Then there was the lock of his mother's hair that he had cut off before she was buried. He kept it in a little jewelry box Padme had given him specifically for that purpose. What was wrong with keeping a small piece of his dead mother?

The other Jedi couldn't understand that – most of them never even _knew_ their mothers.

And what about R2 and 3PO? Did they count as possessions even though Anakin thought of them as friends? Obi-Wan had once scolded him for going looking for the droid when he went missing, but what else was he supposed to do? Even if R2 hadn't been holding important war data, Anakin would have gone after him all the same.

Maybe the Jedi were right and it _was_ dangerous to have attachments.

Maybe having a drawer full of treasures meant he was weak and out of touch with what really mattered. Maybe it meant that one day he would allow his attachments to overtake him instead of work for the greater good like the Jedi were supposed to do.

But was it really so bad?


	27. Suicide

AN: Thanks for reviewing! This prompt was "suicide" and it brought to mind a TFA theory that TheBlackNova came up with on DeviantArt. The theory was that Han actually activated the lightsaber instead of Ben in an attempt to save his son from the dark side. I don't think that theory's true, but it's interesting AU fanfic material.

 **Prompt 27 - Suicide**

"I'm being torn apart. I know what I must do, but I don't know if I have the strength to do it. Can you help me?"

There were tears in Ben's eyes, tears of _wanting_ to come back, tears pleading for a way back. Han saw his son in those eyes – his _real_ son, his little Ben he had hugged in his lap countless times. "Yes," he said quickly and eagerly, " _anything."_

Ben held his lightsaber out into his father's hands. Father and son squeezed the lightsaber together and Han felt tears forming in his own eyes. Could his son truly be _back?_ For a lingering moment, he simply gazed into his child's eyes, hoping for a beautiful moment that his family was together again.

But then the sun outside disappeared and the shadow shrouded Ben's face. The tears were gone and his face once again hardened . . . and only then did Han understand what his son wanted from him.

Ben had to complete his journey to the dark side.

He had to prove himself truly free of compassion or mercy.

He had to kill his father.

And Han had just given him permission to do so.

Han's breath came out in rapid pants. His hands were still on the lightsaber and it was pointed directly at his chest. If Ben activated it, his fall to the dark side would be complete. His son would be truly gone.

Han had only a second to act – a second to possibly save his child. So long as he was alive, Ben could kill him and become a complete slave to the dark side with no hope of redemption.

But Han wasn't going to let that happen.

The father's finger reached the lightsaber's button before the son's could.

And he ignited the blade.

The red blade tore through his body, bringing a sharp, agonizing pain and making him cry out, but even though his vision was already fading, he kept his focus on his son's shocked face. Ben's hands were still on the hilt, but he knew he wasn't the one who had activated the blade.

"Why?" Ben whispered, his eyes still bulged at what he had just witnessed. He yanked the lightsaber out of his father's chest, maybe hoping that could save him or maybe Han was just delusional. "Why?" Ben whispered again.

 _Because I meant it when I said I'd do anything to help you._ The words formed in his foggy mind but nothing came out of his mouth except gasp after gasp after gasp. His world was darkening . . . his eyes were closing for the final time . . . his mind was sinking into oblivion . . . but he couldn't die without showing Ben why he had killed himself . . .

The last bit of his rapidly-draining energy centered itself in his arm. As death and gravity were pulling him down, his arm fought through the haze until his hand pressed itself against Ben's cheek.

 _Don't be afraid to come back, son . . ._

As he fell off the bridge, Han's mind formed one final thought before death took him.

 _I love you, Ben._


	28. Can You Hear Me?

AN: Thanks for reviewing! Also, this prompt uses the deleted ROTS backstory where Han was raised by Chewie and the other Wookiees.

 **Prompt 28 - Can You Hear Me?**

Chewie had always figured that he would outlive Han. Humans had shorter lives than Wookiees, after all, and although it would have certainly been possible for Chewie to be killed during one of the many battles and escapades he and Han had been through, if they lived out their natural lifespans Chewie would see Han die and live more than another whole human lifespan after that.

He had known he would likely outlive Han ever since the Corellian ship crashed on Kashyyyk and the dead family was found onboard – along with an infant who had miraculously survived. Chewie's fellow Wookiees had warned him about raising the baby as his own. "He's a human," they had said. "He will die in less than a century and you will have to bury your child." They said it as if Chewie didn't already know that humans had much shorter lifespans than Wookiees, but Chewie raised the boy despite their words of precaution.

It seemed such a short time ago when he was feeding little Han from a bottle, watching his cheeks puff as his tiny mouth sucked up the milk.

And now he was gazing over at the empty pilot's seat of the Falcon. How cruel was the universe to give Han his beloved ship back only a few days before he died?

Only a few days . . .

 _"_ _You will bury your child . . ."_

He'd understood those words, but he'd always thought – well, _hoped –_ that his cub would die peacefully in his sleep after a long life by human standards.

Han's hair may have been gray and his face may have been wrinkled, but he still wasn't real old by a human lifespan. He could have perhaps lived twenty more years or longer if his life hadn't been cut short.

Cut short by _another_ baby Chewie once cradled . . .

Tears were blurring Chewie's view of the empty pilot's seat. [Cub, can you hear me?] he found himself growling almost without thinking. [Is your spirit somewhere?]

Back on Kashyyyk, the Wookiees believed that the spirits of the dead were always around and the living could speak to them and they would listen. In the years since leaving his home planet, Chewie had somewhat slacked away from their beliefs, especially after Luke claimed that he had communicated with dead Jedi but never with anyone who wasn't Force-sensitive in life.

But would the Force really be so cruel as to only grant afterlife to Force-sensitives and deny it to everyone else?

[Han, can you hear me?] he repeated. [I miss you. I'm so sorry I couldn't protect you. I should have been the one to die, not you . . . you were still so young . . .]

Maybe the Force really was that cruel. It had been cruel enough to end Han's life at the hands of his own son, after all.

[Cub, please, can you hear me?] he asked again in a desperate growl.

No answer came.


	29. Broken

**Prompt 29 - Broken**

"Don't tell me you broke your arm again."

Han grinned up at Leia from the bed in the Rebel Base's medical center. "You're welcome, sweetheart."

"For what?" Leia exclaimed.

"I happened to break my arm on the mission _you_ sent me on. Oh, and we got the data you wanted, by the way."

Leia folded her arms, leaning against the doorway. "And how exactly did breaking your arm enter into that?"

"Well see, we ran into stormtroopers, so of course they were shootin' at us and we were shootin' at them. They had us cornered at one point, but luckily I remember the detonators."

"So you blew up the wall and broke your arm?"

"No, no," said Han. "I blew up the _stormtroopers."_ He cocked his head up at her. "So now we had a path through 'em, but we still had to get outta the building, you know."

"So _then_ you blew up the wall and broke your arm?"

"No, I was outta detonators." Han cocked his head the other way. "So anyway, we were runnin' up and down the halls tryin' to find a way out."

"Why not go back the way you came?"

"Cause the Empire knew we were there, of course. If we'd tried to leave through the main entrance, they'd have been waitin' for us. So we were runnin' up and down the halls – there were a _lotta_ halls – then we ran into more stormtroopers. They shot at us, we shot at them, you know the drill."

"I definitely do."

"Well once we took 'em out I got an idea. We'd take the troopers' armor and do the whole thing where we disguise ourselves as stormtroopers – ya know, like we did when we rescued your royal behind."

 _"_ _Royal behind?"_ Leia exclaimed, her hands now on her hips.

"What's with women and bein' sensitive about their rear ends?" Han said with a smirk. "Anyway, don't interrupt. So as I was sayin', we put on the armor and we thought we could just walk out and get away before anyone noticed."

"Let me guess – someone noticed."

"Hey, it wasn't _my_ fault! How was I s'posed to know Wedge was prone to sneezing under a stormtrooper helmet? Unfortunately, his sneezin' fit started just as we were about to slip out the main entrance. Well, you know the drill after that. Shoot, shoot, shoot, run, run, run, then finally we got back to the Falcon and flew outta there."

Leia raised her eyebrow. "I see . . . but how exactly did you break your arm in all that?"

Suddenly Han didn't look so cocky. His mouth twisted without saying anything for several seconds before Leia turned to the medical droid. "Well? How did it happen?"

"Captain Solo tripped in the base's cafeteria and fell on a table," the droid said simply.

Leia looked from the droid to Han and back again, knowing she shouldn't laugh at Han's injury, but she couldn't stop herself.

"Well," she said between snickers, "I hope you get better soon. And thanks for the data."


	30. Infinity

AN: Thanks for reviewing!

 **Prompt 30 - Infinity**

"Daddy, does the universe really go on forever?"

Six-year-old Ben and his father were standing on the balcony of the family's Naboo vacation home, gazing up at the stars. It was hard to see too many stars with all the lights back home on Coruscant, so Ben was always fascinated whenever they traveled to a planet where the stars were more visible.

"I dunno, son," said Han, leaning on the balcony's rail. "It sure _seems_ to."

"How far away have you been, Daddy?" Ben asked, his eyes reflecting the light of Naboo's moons.

Han grinned as he looked back at the sky. "Pretty far. Seen a lotta planets, been in a lotta battles, but I haven't seen the whole universe."

"I wanna see the whole universe!" Ben suddenly exclaimed.

"Oh?" Han cocked his head at the child. "What if the universe really _does_ go on forever? You'd have to keep flying out into space forever."

"Okay," said Ben, a grin on his face that dug dimples into his cheeks.

"Really?" asked Han. "Seems to me you'd get tired of flying through space forever. I mean, I _love_ flying, but I wouldn't wanna do it _forever."_

"Why not?"

Han smiled and shook his head as he crouched down to the boy's level. "Well for one thing, if I were always flyin' around forever and tryin' to see the whole universe, I could never come here and look at the stars. I couldn't ever spend time with Mommy or play with you either. It'd get real lonely, just me and space forever."

Suddenly Ben wrapped his little arms around his father's neck, as if he was worried that his father would go exploring the stars forever and never play with him again.

"But what if we all went exploring forever together?" Ben asked as his father hugged him back. You, me, Mommy, Uncle Chewie, Uncle Luke, all of us. We could all go see if the universe went on forever together."

Han squeezed his son tighter as he gazed back up at the seemingly-infinite stars. "We still couldn't find out if the universe went on forever," he said gently. "Cause we'd still be searching _forever._ We could fly for ten billion years and we still wouldn't know what all was out there. That's how big forever is."

"And we'd die before we got to forever," Ben said matter-of-factly, now looking back up at the stars. "It'd still be fun to try, though."

"Oh, I think it's more fun when you get to do other stuff besides flyin'." Han gave his son a kiss on the cheek. "Like coming to Naboo with you and Mommy and gazin' at the stars."

Ben kissed his father back. "I like that too."


	31. Holding Hands

AN: Thanks for reviewing! Also, Rianna is my OC who's Luke's wife in most of my other fanfics.

 **Prompt 31 - Holding Hands**

Luke sometimes cringed when his wife held his right hand. In fact, he cringed almost every time Rianna squeezed that hand or clasped it or even brushed her fingers against it. Although he was right-handed by nature, he almost always used his left hand to caress her body or squeeze her hand. Even when they showered together, he would shampoo her hair with his left hand and use his right hand just to steady her head. Though they never talked about it, Rianna would be able to sense how her husband felt about his right hand even if she weren't Force-sensitive.

He was ashamed of that hand.

Of course she knew why. It was associated with one of his most painful memories, after all, but still, she had never known him without it. His metal touch was just as much a part of him as his soft touch.

Now he was snoring gently next to her, gripping the pillow with that despised hand. Rianna gazed at its outline in the dark. Did she dare? Could she do It without waking him? Her gaze drifted to her own pregnant abdomen which Luke had only ever touched with his flesh hand. Maybe he worried that his metal hand would hurt the baby, but that was nonsense . . . wasn't it?

Slowly, slowly, slowly, she reached over and touched the forbidden hand, running her fingers over the surface that looked natural but felt like metal. It didn't yield to her touch like his other hand did, nor did it smell of cologne and soap like the rest of him – in fact, it smelled vaguely metallic like a droid.

When Luke didn't wake, Rianna felt bolder. In little increments, she gently pulled his hand closer and closer to her stomach, gulping after every snore, praying that he wouldn't wake up . . . and that this wouldn't hurt the baby.

Finally she pressed the hand on her pregnant belly, holding her breath as she did so, but Luke still didn't wake. She let out her breath as the baby nudged her, as if he or she sensed that his or her father's hand was right outside the womb.

"Hey there, baby," Rianna whispered as softly as she could. "Your daddy's touching you with his special hand." His special hand. Maybe she should talk to Luke about calling it his special hand when the time came to tell their child about it.

"Your daddy may hesitate to touch you with his special hand after you're born," she continued whispering, "but it's special for a reason. Your daddy lost his regular hand when he found out who your grandfather is – and that's an interesting story in itself." The baby nudged her again as if asking her to tell more. "After your daddy got his special hand, he set off on a mission to rescue your uncle . . . and another mission to bring your grandfather back to the light side." Luke snored again and Rianna gave a tiny smile. "Your daddy's special hand is a sign of his determination and your grandfather's redemption, baby. I hope you'll be as proud of it as I am."


	32. Blind

**Prompt 32 - Blind**

"OW!"

A string of curses made their way out of Kanan's mouth as he rubbed his throbbing head. How many times was he going to run into doors – or maybe this time it was a wall, it wasn't like he could tell – before he got used to walking around as a blind man?

The faint answer of _never_ flicked through his head and pushed even more curses out of his mouth. He was a Jedi, for crying out loud! He could sense living things through the Force and yet he couldn't even sense when a damn _wall_ was in front of him?

"Kanan? Are you all right?"

Hera's voice. That voice that usually soothed him and the Force-signature that usually comforted him. He turned in the direction of the voice, still clutching his head, but instead of that green, smiling face, there was only the same blackness that was always in front of his eyes.

He might stare into nothing but blackness for the rest of his life, never again to see her beautiful green face and gaze into her eyes.

"Kanan?" that voice repeated, making his breath come out in little heaves. "Kanan, are you all right?"

"I'm fine," Kanan muttered. "I just bumped into the wall, and what are you doing up?"

"I've been preparing for the mission that you're refusing to go on." There was that smartness in Hera's voice that Kanan always liked to hear.

"I already told you," the Jedi said in a louder voice, "there's no room for a _blind_ crewman on the Ghost. I'll just slow everyone down."

"Kanan, you know that's not true . . ."

"Really? I can't even go to the _refresher_ without bumping into a wall! You know as well as I do that I'd be _useless_ in battle and I'd probably get everyone killed."

He felt her soft hand on his shoulder, which only made him long even more to see her face. "Kanan, I know things don't loo – I mean _seem_ good right now . . ."

"Wait, were you embarrassed to say _look_? _"_ Kanan interrupted.

Hera sighed. "I just didn't want to hurt your feelings . . ."

"Or maybe you just felt awkward saying _look_ to a _blind_ man!"

"Kanan, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to . . ." She trailed off and Kanan felt her other hand on his other shoulder.

Now Kanan was the one sighing. "I'm sorry, Hera. I just wish . . . I just wish I could see you."

With those words, everything happened at once. He felt Hera gather him into one of her strong embraces as tears started building up in his sightless eyes. Not once when he could see had he ever told Hera how beautiful she was.

"It will be all right, Kanan," she murmured in his ear, her breath tickling his skin.

"You don't know that," Kanan said through a sob he'd been unable to keep in.

"But I know _you,"_ said Hera, "and the Ghost family will be waiting for whenever you're ready to come back."


	33. Empty

**Prompt 33 - Empty**

Han had been lying on the couch all morning, hardly moving except for the rising and falling of his chest, staring at the ceiling as of all the answers to the recent tragedies could be found there. He hadn't even eaten breakfast – he'd just gotten up and headed straight for the sofa without even saying good morning to his wife.

"Han?" Leia asked in her gentlest voice from behind the couch.

Han just stared blankly at the ceiling as if she wasn't even there, his face as empty as it had been ever since Luke vanished off the face of the galaxy. When Ben turned to the dark side, Han had crying fits, nightmares, trembling episodes, but now that Luke was gone too, it was like his spirit had shut down. He hardly spoke and went through the motions of the day as if he were sleepwalking. He'd stopped seeing his therapist and simply ignored any calls for him to schedule a new appointment.

"Han?" she repeated, reaching down to touch his stubbled cheek – once again he hadn't shaved. "Han, please . . ."

Han just kept staring upwards as though asleep with his eyes open.

"Han, _please,_ " Leia repeated again in a more desperate voice. "I know things are terrible right now, but . . ."

"My fault . . ." Han muttered, his voice so low and growly that Leia could hardly make out the words.

"What?"

"My fault . . ." he muttered again. "All my fault . . ."

"What are you talking about? Of _course_ it wasn't your fault!"

Han's bloodshot eyes just kept staring upward. "I . . . pushed Ben . . ."

" _I_ was the one who pushed Ben, Han."

"I . . . blamed Luke . . . all my fault . . ."

"What do you mean you blamed Luke."

Han still refused to look at anything other than the ceiling. "I blamed Luke . . . for Ben . . . my fault he's gone . . ."

Leia's stomach jumped. Han had blamed Luke for Ben's fall? When was that?

 _Did_ it lead to Luke leaving?

No, no, that was ridiculous. Luke wouldn't leave just because a grieving father had blamed him for his lost son's fall.

Would he?

And . . . _was_ it actually Luke's fault? If Ben had never been taught how to use the Force, would he have been safe from Snoke?

No, no, she had to stop thinking like this. She had to be strong for Han and she couldn't feed his guilt.

She pressed both her hands against his cheeks. "Han, _listen_ to me. _None_ of this was your fault. You were a _wonderful_ father and the best brother-in-law Luke could ask for."

Han said nothing, still staring upwards as if trying to avoid her eyes.

"Han, please, I'm begging you, _look at me!"_

Still there was nothing. Even when Leia turned his head in her direction, his eyes still just stared ahead at nothing. Maybe Han had drifted into his own world where none of this had happened or maybe his own world was a living nightmare where nothing existed except the recent losses of Ben and Luke.

Her hand slipped down to Han's cold hand, squeezing it as tightly as she could, but his fingers didn't respond. "Dammit Han, you can't just keep living like an empty shell! If you won't snap out of it for your own sake, then do it for my sake – for Ben's sake!"

"Ben," Han said it that same growly voice. "Ben's gone."

"No, he's _not_ gone! Not forever, not if we don't give up on him!"

"Gone . . . my fault . . ." was all Han said in response before shutting down once more.


	34. Corruption

AN: Thanks for reviewing!

 **Prompt 34 - Corruption**

"So this is how liberty dies. With thunderous applause."

It was thunderous indeed. It echoed from all directions – above Padme, below her, from all sides, in front of her, behind her – it seemed like the only ones _not_ applauding were the small group in Padme's senate pod.

How long had Palpatine been planning this? She had long ago suspected that he had used her all those years ago when he convinced her to vote for no-confidence in Chancellor Vallorum, but she had still believed that he had the galaxy's best interests at heart. She had _thought_ that he intended to become chancellor because he genuinely thought it was the best way to make things better for the Republic.

And after all, hadn't he? Hadn't he made sure smaller worlds like Naboo were protected? Hadn't he always listened to all sides in disputes and come up with solutions that were fair for all involved? Hadn't he mentored her during her years in politics? Hadn't he been a beacon of hope during the war, a symbol that the Republic would prevail and democracy would win?

Democracy . . .

The will of the people spoken through their elected officials, but here were those elected officials applauding the change to a dictatorship.

Was _that_ democracy?

Why _were_ they applauding? Had the war simply frightened them so much that they thought Palpatine ruling as an Emperor was the only way to protect the galaxy?

Strength. Security. Of course. He was offering them a government so strong that no one would dare attack it again and there would never be a repeat of this war. If a few rights and freedoms were lost in the process, wasn't that a small price to pay to protect the people?

Maybe even Palpatine thought like that.

Here they were, the senators who had always spoken for freedom and rights, willingly surrendering freedom and rights in exchange for security and celebrating the act.

Democracy in action.


	35. Jump

**Prompt 35 - Jump**

"Luke, stop jumping on the bed!"

Seven-year-old Luke ignored his uncle's call and kept jumping, his feet sinking down into the mattress before the springs bounced him back up over and over and over. Why didn't grownups ever understand how much fun it was to jump on the bed? Maybe if grownups jumped on the bed, they wouldn't be so serious all the time.

"Luke!" Uncle Owen was standing in the doorway now, a hand on each side of the frame, that you'd-better-listen-or-you'll-be-in-trouble-young-man expression on his face. "Luke, I told you to stop jumping on the bed!"

"Why?" Luke asked in a simple voice, bending his knees as he landed so he'd jump higher.

"Because it's dangerous," said Owen, folding his arms. "You could fall off the bed and break your legs."

"No I won't!" Luke insisted, now jumping around in circles. "I'm bein' careful!"

"Oh?" asked Owen. "Well that's just what Darth Vader said."

Luke's eyes suddenly widened as he sat in mid-air, landing on his bottom and still bouncing in a sitting position. "What're you talkin' about, Uncle Owen?"

Now Owen had a cheeky smile on his face as he shuffled up to his son's bed. "Well don't you know why Darth Vader has to wear a suit?"

Luke's eyes bulged. "Why?"

Owen sat next to his son on the edge of the bed. "Well, no one knows for sure, but some say that when he was little, he loved to jump on the bed. He'd jump on the bed every night – even though his mother told him not to, he never listened."

"Wait, Darth Vader had a mother?"

"Of course he did. Now listen, they say that one night, he jumped on the bed _really_ hard. He jumped with _shoes_ , too, so he sank real deep into the mattress and then the springs would throw him extra high."

"Wow!" exclaimed Luke. "I should try jumping on the bed with shoes too!"

"Now hold on a second, son," said Owen, rubbing his nephew's shoulder. "Listen to what happened first. See, little Darth Vader kept jumping and jumping and jumping and he was having the time of his life, but then his bed couldn't handle it anymore. When he landed, he fell _right through_ the mattress!"

Luke gasped.

"And not only that," continued Owen, "but he was jumping so hard that he fell through the _floor_ as well as the mattress! The doctors had to come real quick and it took them hours to get Vader out of the broken floor."

"What happened next?"

"Well, they took little Vader to a hospital, but he had jumped and landed so hard that he broke all his bones and needed to be put in a suit for the rest of his life. So you see, that's why you shouldn't jump on the bed."

Luke cocked his head up at his uncle. "Is that _true?"_

"Maybe," said Owen, kissing his nephew on the head. "Either way, you should stop jumping on the bed and get some sleep."

"Okay," said Luke, scooting under the covers. "G'night, Uncle."

"Good night, Luke." Owen stood up and started to leave the bedroom, but before he reached the door, Luke spoke up again.

"Uncle Owen?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm not gonna end up like Vader, am I?"

Owen gave a long sigh. "I sure hope not, Luke. I really, _really_ hope not."


	36. Kiss

AN: Thanks for reviewing!

 **Prompt 36 - Kiss**

"Sir! Sir! I've isolated the reverse power coupling!"

If there was ever a time when Han would want to turn 3PO off, it was now. "Thank you, thank you very much," he said with his teeth ground, though the droid was of course oblivious to the intention behind his words and merrily expressed his appreciation.

And when Han turned back around, she was gone.

Han could have disassembled the droid right then and there. He quickly put his dirty hands in his pockets, where they clenched into fists. After three long years, he and Leia were actually _getting somewhere,_ but then that droid had to ruin it.

Once 3PO was safely out of sight, he slowly took one hand out of his pocket and raised it up to his lips, pressing a finger next to them. Leia had kissed him. Okay, maybe he was the one who had initiated the kiss, but she had still continued it.

The taste of her lips . . .

How could he describe it? They were more chapped than he had imagined – but he supposed that was to be expected given their current circumstances. They also tasted a bit . . . minty, maybe a remnant from her toothpaste.

And her hands on the back of his neck, pressing his face against hers . . . his neck still tingled there. Maybe the grease from her hands had gotten on his neck, but he didn't care. In fact, he may very well not wash his neck for a while.

Leia had kissed him.

The more those words settled themselves into his mind, the more he wanted to shout them to the universe. Leia had kissed him, Leia had kissed him, _Leia had kissed him!_

Should he go skipping down the Falcon's corridors like some crazy lovesick boy? No, that would be stupid, but he couldn't stop the idea entering his head. Okay, it was technically far from being his first kiss, but no other kiss had ever felt like _this._

Things would be different between them now. They'd be able to have civil conversations that didn't erupt into arguments. There would be more kisses and Han would be able to better describe the taste of her lips soon.

He grinned to himself as he sauntered out of the room. Leia may be hiding from him at the moment, but it wouldn't be long before she came around. She couldn't pretend she wasn't turned on by his charm any longer.

Leia had kissed him.

A chuckle escaped his lips. This was the beginning of a whole new era for them.

Leia had kissed him.


	37. Alive

AN: Thanks again for reviewing! Note: This piece includes mild sexual content. I don't think it's enough to raise the story's rating, but here's the warning.

 **Prompt 37 - Alive**

Breath after breath heaved in and out of Han's smiling mouth as he lay in his bunk – no, _their_ bunk, now that he and Leia had made love in it it no longer just belonged to him. And after all, she was still here, resting her head on his bare chest, her mussed-up hair tickling his skin. Maybe she was listening to his heartbeat – if she was, she probably noticed that it was racing.

"I've never felt so alive," he murmured.

"Mmm?" Leia said in a drowsy voice.

"I've never felt so alive," Han repeated.

Leia looked up at him, digging her chin into his chest. "Wait, are you trying to tell me you'd never had sex before? I wouldn't have guessed you were a virgin."

Han's mouth twisted a little in embarrassment. "Er, hate to burst your bubble, but I wasn't a virgin."

"I figured."

Han gently stroked her bare stomach, his fingers tracing the curves by her navel. "But it was . . . _different_ with you."

"Why, because _I_ was a virgin?"

"No," said Han. "Hell, if you hadn't told me you were a virgin I wouldn't have guessed you were. You were real good at it."

Leia let out an embarrassed chuckle as she once again rested her cheek on his chest.

"I'm serious," said Han. "And I'm serious when I say I've never felt so alive."

"Oh? None of the others made you feel _alive?"_

"Not like this. To tell you the truth, usually I'm exhausted after sex and I fall asleep minutes later, but I don't feel like that now."

Leia wrapped her arm around his torso and squeezed it. "So did the others show themselves out while you were asleep?"

"Most of the time . . . wait, was that askin' if _you_ could show yourself out?"

Leia gave a long, content sigh. "If you want to sleep, I _can_ show myself out if you want, but if you don't mind I'd like to stay here for a while."

"I'd like you to stay here too." He ran his fingers through her oily hair, gently picking through the tangles.

"All right, then I'll stay." She yawned. "Sorry . . . I guess I'm tired too . . . but it's a good kind of tired, you know?"

"Yup," said Han.

"Does it feel like this every time?"

Han sighed. "Well, like I said, I'm usually dead asleep a few minutes later and then when I wake up she's gone, so I don't really have much to compare right now to."

"So why aren't you dead asleep now?"

"I dunno." Han slowly ran his hand up Leia's body to caress her shoulder. "Maybe it's cause you're interesting."

Or maybe it was because he didn't want her to leave, but he wasn't going to tell her that.

As they lay in comfortable silence, Han's eyes started to droop. He fought it at first, not wanting to wake up alone like had happened so many times before, but sleep gradually conquered him.

When he woke up, there was Leia sleeping beside him.


	38. Dependency

**Prompt 38 - Dependency**

"Mommy! Daddy! Wake up, wake up, WAKE UP!"

Just like most mornings, Leia was jolted awake by her son leaping onto the bed and shouting at the top of his little lungs. She groaned, refusing to open her eyes. "Ben," she said through a long yawn, "it's the weekend . . . Mommy and Daddy can sleep late today."

"But we're goin' to the ZOO today, remember?"

Han gave his own sleepy groan next to her. "Zoo won't be open yet, son . . . go back to bed and let Mommy and Daddy sleep . . ."

"Sleep is for night," Ben said matter-of-factly, grabbing his mother's shoulder. "It's morning now!"

Leia yawned again as her eyes slowly opened to her son's face inches away from hers. "I know it's morning, honey, but it's _early_ morning. Mommy works hard during the week at the senate and Daddy works hard taking care of you and we both want a little more sleep before we get up."

"But what about the zoo?"

"The zoo will still be there," Han mumbled.

"But don't animals wake up early?" Ben persisted.

Leia sighed, blowing into Ben's mussed-up hair. "Sweetheart, like Daddy said, the zoo isn't open yet. Now why don't you go back to bed and we can all get up in say, an hour?"

Ben's wide eyes blinked at his mother. "What time will that be?"

"Well, let's see what time it is now." She reached over to the nightstand and grabbed the chronoalarm.

The chronoalarm that had stopped.

"Er, Han?" she asked, reaching over with her other hand and nudging her husband's shoulder.

"Tryin' to sleep here," mumbled Han.

"I know, but I have a question. Do you happen to remember when was the last time we used the chronoalarm?"

Han's left eye slightly opened. "Uh . . . no, actually, I don't."

Leia raised her eyebrow as she looked from the chronoalarm to Ben to Han and back to the chronoalarm. "Have we . . . gotten dependent on Ben waking us up instead of the chronoalarm?"

Han's other eye opened as his mouth twisted. "Well . . . he wakes us up a lot, I know that." He yawned as he reached up to squeeze his son's shoulder. "Haven't ya, son?"

"Yup!" Ben said, grinning as if he expected his parents to be proud of it. "You guys don't wanna sleep all day, right?"

"I dunno," Han groaned with another yawn. "Might be nice once in a while."

"But you'd miss all the FUN!" Ben shouted, grabbing his father's side.

"Okay, okay," Han muttered. "Now why don't you go do what your mother says and go back to bed for another hour?"

Ben pointed to the chronoalarm still in his mother's hand. "But if the alarm's broken, how're you gonna know when to wake up?"

"That's easy," said Leia, lying back down and closing her eyes. "We'll have you to wake us up."


	39. Heal

**Prompt 39 - Heal**

Vader lay on the medical bed, staring at the ceiling through the red-tinted mask he was to wear for the rest of his life, listening to that mechanical breath he was to hear for the rest of his life.

The rest of his life . . .

His eyes squeezed shut as he flinched in pain from whatever they had implanted in his chest to keep his lungs working. His mouth, now devoid of several of his teeth, bit down on the breathing apparatus, tasting the cold, bitter metal.

He curled the fingers of his artificial hands – one of which he was used to, but the other was invasive, alien, not part of him. What would it be like to live the rest of his life without _any_ flesh appendages?

His eyes opened again, looking to the left and then to the right, seeing only red. It was hot inside the mask – he'd probably think it was horribly stuffy if he could actually breathe through his nose and mouth anymore.

If Padme were here, she would hug him, kiss his mask to show that she still loved him even if she could never touch him again . . .

But she _didn't_ still love him.

All he had done for her, all he had sacrificed for her, and she didn't even appreciate it. He bit down harder on the apparatus, seething at the memory of her horrified face. Horrified of the one who loved her.

She _deserved_ to be choked.

And now she was dead. His worst fear had come true.

So what was he to do now?

The artificial breath already irritated whatever was left of his ears – or actually, he had been told, the auditory sensors in his brain that was receiving input via something in the helmet; his ears no longer worked. How in the galaxy was he going to handle listening to it for the rest of his life without going insane?

If he would hear it for the rest of his life, he almost wondered if he would prefer being deaf.

The rest of his life . . .

His life, which he still had despite his body burning up.

How – why – did he survive when Padme didn't?

His eyes closed again, blocking out the red, but he couldn't hide from the noise. In, out, in out. Why didn't they just let him be deaf?

For that matter, why didn't they just let him die?

With Padme dead and his body encased in this _thing_ forever, what more was there to live for?

Yet here he was, alive. Alive even though all logic would say he should be dead.

Should he just throw all that away?

No . . .

He had conquered the galaxy, conquered his fears, conquered _death._ He had risen out of the lava and he would be even stronger than before.

Even with damage that would never heal.


	40. Fork Road

AN: Thanks for reviewing!

 **Prompt 40 - Fork Road**

Han doubted that there were many people who could point to a specific choice that changed everything in their lives. After all, life was made up of many, many choices. What to eat for breakfast, who to date, what to wear, what career to pursue, choices little and big that shaped everyone's lives, so how could anyone pick _one_ choice as the most important in their lives?

Han, however, could.

In fact, he could remember the exact moment when he made that choice.

He had been in the pilot's seat of the Falcon, watching the blue streaks of hyperspace rush past the ship, though his stomach felt like he had eaten something bad. Chewie was sitting next to him, unusually silent, seeming to make an effort not to look at his friend.

Han knew what he was doing, he tried to convince himself. Attacking the Death Star was foolish – no, it was beyond foolish. No one in that battle stood any chance.

And if his new friends were going to march to their deaths, he wasn't going to be around to see it.

Han's breath was unsteady. Maybe Luke was already dead, shot down without mercy, his body blasted into a thousand pieces. That idealistic kid, blown to bits while trying to make the galaxy a better place . . .

Would Han have been able to save him?

No, no, no one had a chance in that battle. Han had already _tried_ to save the kid when he offered to let him come with them, but he had refused, preferring to die in a hopeless battle.

He couldn't save someone who wouldn't even save himself.

And what about the princess? Had the Death Star blasted her apart as well?

Han swallowed over and over. No, no, he couldn't do anything to help, no one could, it was a hopeless battle. She had chosen to die for some sort of stupid ideal.

He couldn't save people who refused to save themselves.

One exhaust port less than two meters wide and failure to hit it meant everyone would die.

Even entertaining the possibility of victory was crazy, yet alone staking _everything_ on it.

[You should have listened to the princess,] Chewie growled softly.

"What?"

[She told me that she told you she thought the ship was being tracked, but you didn't listen.]

It was as if something had bashed Han in the head. _"Not THIS ship, sister!"_ Those stupid words pressed against his skull as if trying to crush it.

He hadn't listened to her.

And it turned out the ship _was_ being tracked.

Han had brought the Death Star to the Rebels.

His breath increased until he was almost hyperventilating. Luke and Leia going to certain death wasn't just their own choice.

It was also _his_ doing.

"Chewie," he gasped out, "take us outta hyperspace!"

[What?]

"You heard me!" Han shouted. "We've got new friends who need us."

[But didn't you say that was suicide?]

"Yeah, I did, and this is probably the stupidest thing I've ever done, but if we die, we can at least die for a better cause for once."

Chewie gaffawed as he worked the controls to reroute the Falcon and Han just sighed as he leaned back in his seat. This was it.

The decision that changed his entire life.


	41. Jigsaw Pieces

**Prompt 41 - Jigsaw Pieces**

"Leia, I don't get it."

Leia glanced up from her datapad down to where Han and two-year-old Ben were sprawled on the floor with a jigsaw puzzle between them. "It's a puzzle of a picture of a bantha," she said with a grin, "what's not to understand?"

"Not that," said Han. "The fact that our son just took it apart and put it back together three times with no help."

Leia turned her attention to Ben, who was giving her that adorable grin that dimpled his cheeks. "Puzzuwl!" he shouted. "I do puzzuwl!"

"Yes, you did," said Leia, smiling back at him. "You're a smart boy."

"I smawt!" Ben agreed.

"Yeah," said Han. "I mean, it says on the box that it's for ages three and up."

"And when we bought it you were worried that it was too advanced for him," Leia said with a laugh.

"Daddy, I wanna do puzzuwl again!" Ben exclaimed.

"Okay, okay son," laughed Han, "go have your fun."

With that, Ben grabbed the puzzle and turned it upside-down, dumping the pieces on the floor. "Daddy wanna do puzzuwl too?" the toddler asked.

"Oh?" asked Han. "I thought you liked doin' it all by yourself."

"I do puzzewl alweady," Ben said with a sharp nod. "It Daddy's tuwn now!"

"You sure?"

"Yeah! Do puzzewl!"

Han shrugged as he pushed himself to a sitting position. "Okay son, if you say so." He turned over the pieces that had landed upside-down and started picking out the border pieces.

"What you doin', Daddy?" Ben asked.

"I'm sortin' out the pieces, Ben."

"Why?"

"Cause it's easier to put a puzzle together if you sort out the edge pieces first," said Han. He held up a corner piece. "See, this piece has two flat edges, so that means it's a corner piece and it goes in the corner." He placed the piece in its proper corner. "Look, Daddy put the piece in the corner."

"Ooooh," Ben breathed as if the idea of sorting out the corner pieces had never occurred to him before.

"Now look here," Han continued, picking up a border piece and running his finger along the straight edge. "This is called a _border_ piece, and it goes along the _edge_ of the picture."

"Wow."

"Yes, wow." Han nodded at his son. "Now look, the corner piece I put in has a little bit of the bantha's horn in it, and this piece here has a little more of the bantha's horn. Do you think they might go together?"

Ben was nodding rapidly. "Yeah, yeah!"

Leia, meanwhile, was giggling from the sofa. "Han, you _do_ know he just put the puzzle together by himself three times, right? I don't think he needs you to teach him how."

"Hey sweetheart," said Han, "lemmie have some fun teachin' him while I still can. Someday he's gonna resent it, after all."


	42. I Can't

AN: Thanks for reviewing! Again, Rianna is Luke's wife from my fanfics.

 **Prompt 42 - I Can't**

"RIANNA!"

Luke had rushed into the Jedi Temple too late. Body after body after body littered the floor, already stinking up the atmosphere with the smell of burnt flesh from lightsaber-inflicted wounds.

And in the center, there was Ben, Luke's beloved little nephew, now grown into a monster, his lightsaber plunged through his own aunt's chest.

"RIANNA!" Luke shouted again.

Ben only glared heartlessly at his uncle as he yanked the lightsaber out of Rianna's chest, letting her body fall to the floor. "Luke Skywalker," he said in a low voice, "I've been waiting for you."

Luke's insides went cold as he stared into his nephew's unfeeling eyes. "Ben . . . how could you?"

"My name isn't Ben." His breath was coming out in slow heaves as he raised his lightsaber. "Ben was stupid and vulnerable. Ben was too frightened to do what had to be done . . . but I'm not."

With that, he charged at his uncle, but Luke had his lightsaber activated within a second. The blades clashed, their light reflecting in Ben's eyes – the eyes of the little boy Luke had watched grow up . . . into _this._

"Ben . . ." Luke whispered.

"MY NAME'S NOT BEN!" He raised his lightsaber to strike, but even with the dark side aiding him, he was no match for the Jedi Master who had been a Jedi for longer than anyone else in the galaxy. Within a minute, Luke had Force-pushed his nephew into the wall, knocking him out.

Then he rushed over to his wife, diving to the floor and cradling her barely-living body into his arms.

"Rianna . . ." he choked out through his sobs. ". . . Rianna . . ."

Rianna's breath was coming out in uneven spasms, her destroyed lungs desperate for air. "Luke . . ." she whispered, ". . . you have to get out of here . . . before he wakes up . . ."

"I'm not leaving you," Luke shouted. "I'm not leaving _him_ either!"

"No . . . choice . . ." Rianna gasped. "He'll come after you . . . come after _Rey . . ."_

Luke froze. Their little Force-sensitive daughter . . . if Ben was out to wipe out the Jedi, she would be a threat.

"Protect . . . Rey . . ." Rianna coughed out. "Protect . . . her . . ."

Her head dropped to the side.

"No, no," Luke whispered. "No, Rianna, stay with me, stay with me." He pushed at her head despite the empty blankness in her still-open green eyes. "Please Rianna, please, don't leave me, PLEASE!"

There was only silence.

Luke didn't know how long he sat there with his wife's dead body in his lap. He only knew that he was unable to do anything except sob heavily for an extended amount of time before his mind finally cleared enough to remember her last words.

 _"_ _Protect Rey."_

Luke's head was aching as he looked up at his still-unconscious nephew, knowing his wife was right. He _would_ come after Rey and the dark side would only make him stronger and stronger until Luke couldn't best him.

Then Ben's eyes opened.

As if he had never been knocked out, Ben scrambled to his feet, growling at Luke, forcing him to drop Rianna's body and grab his own lightsaber. The blades locked again, and with one look into his nephew's hate-crazed eyes Luke realized the horrible truth.

He couldn't protect Rey.

Not so long as he was with her.


	43. Lace

AN: Thanks for reviewing!

 **Prompt 43 - Lace**

Leia squirmed around in her seat, trying unsuccessfully to pay attention to the opera. It looked like one of the side characters had just died, but she couldn't concentrate enough to make out what his friend was belting out in grief. She scratched her sides, scratched her back, scratched her front, but nothing could eliminate the itching.

Why the hell had she chosen to wear such a lacey dress to the opera?

She wanted to look her best, of course – especially since the production was in honor of a new planet joining the Republic – but she had many other dresses that were more comfortable than this one, so why the hell had she chosen the one with the lacey collar and lacey sleeves and lacey belt that seemed to want her to be miserable?

Next to her, Han was leaning forward, engrossed in the story, and despite her itchiness Leia couldn't help but smile at that. She might have expected him to fall asleep five minutes in, but no, he was actually engaged in what he had previously called "entertainment for stuffy highbrows who watched it so they could call themselves smart." It even looked like there were tears in his eyes – he must have gotten pretty attached to whichever side character just died.

Now if only _she_ could pay attention.

She gritted her teeth, rubbed her back against the seat, squirmed one side, squirmed the other side, scratched until she thought her fingernails might rip the lace. How long was the opera anyway? It sure felt like it had been going on for hours.

Maybe she could fake that she needed to use the refresher and then rip the dress off . . . but she didn't have anything else to put on. Damn, why wasn't it customary to bring extra dresses to an opera in case one of them was super-itchy?

And why was she thinking such a stupid thing?

She inhaled and exhaled through her teeth. The grieving loved one had finished his aria and now he appeared to be plotting revenge, but it wasn't like Leia could tell for sure – she didn't even know which character just died.

Stupid, _stupid_ lace.

Then suddenly, there were strong fingers scratching her back – and they weren't hers. Up and down they went, not curing the itches but at least soothing them a little.

"Lace bothering you, sweetheart?' Han whispered as he continued scratching his wife's back.

"You have no idea," Leia whispered back. "But _this_ feels good."


	44. Lake

AN: Thanks as always for reviewing! Also, Mae and Owen are my OC's - they're Luke's kids in my Lucas-canon only fanfic universes.

 **Prompt 44 - Lake**

Mae Skywalker was floating on her back in the warm Naboo sun, letting the waves bounce under her. "Come on, Dad!" she shouted. "The water's fine!"

"Maybe later," Luke called from the beach, and Mae could imagine the look on his face. While her father might have conquered his fear of water and learned to swim years ago, swimming still wasn't one of his favorite things.

She pushed herself to an upright position, bobbing in the water and waving to her parents on the beach. "You sure, Dad?" she called.

"Mae, I have to watch Owen." Luke gestured over to Mae's younger brother, who was busily building a sandcastle.

"Oh come on Luke," said Rianna, "I can watch Owen." She nudged her husband. "She's got Naboo heritage from both her parents – it's in her blood to swim."

Luke twisted his mouth as he slowly rose to his feet. "All right Mae, I'm coming."

With a grin, Mae swam closer to the shore, letting the waves help her along. She knew that her father had grown up on a desert planet, of course, but she still couldn't imagine not feeling at home in the water. Of course, that might be because Luke had wanted his children to be comfortable in water from a very early age and as such Mae couldn't remember not knowing how to swim.

At the shore, Luke was easing himself into the water, flinching a bit at the cold. "I'm coming, sweetheart," he shouted. "Just give me a minute."

Mae laughed as she once again turned herself upright and let her body bob on the water. As her father awkwardly waded in, gradually getting used to the chill, she gazed up at the birds flying overhead. They were probably calling to each other, but if they were, she couldn't hear it over the waves.

"Mae!" Luke called after several minutes had passed. Mae snapped out of her reverie to find that Luke was swimming towards her with his uneven stroke.

"You made it!" Mae laughed.

When Luke reached his daughter, he too turned his body upright and allowed himself to bob with the waves. "Mae, I think your mother's right when she says you're part-Gungan."

Mae's hand flicked upward, playfully splashing water in her father's face. "Dad, you need to appreciate the water more."

"I do, I do," said Luke. "I just didn't learn to swim until after I was grown up – I never even went to a swimming pool when I was a kid. You probably can't imagine what that's like, though."

"Nope," said Mae, "and I don't want to." She flicked more water into his face. "I like it better when we all go swimming together."

Luke responded by flicking water into her face. "I like that too."


	45. Cry

**Prompt 45 - Cry**

Rey was gone and no one was coming to her rescue.

Finn's hands were shaking as he stormed down the Falcon's corridors. Why hadn't Han shot Kylo Ren when he had the chance? He was _right there!_ He should have been able to shoot Kylo down and that would have been the end of it.

So why _didn't_ he?

Suddenly Finn stopped by the door to the cockpit. He thought he heard something.

Someone _crying._

He stood there for only a moment before his curiosity got the better of him and he entered the cockpit. There was Han Solo – the famous hero of the Rebellion – slumped in the pilot's seat, his face buried in his hand, sobbing like a father whose child just died.

Finn gulped, his stomach twisting. It occurred to him that he maybe should leave the pilot alone, but again curiosity got the better of him and he found himself entering the cockpit and sitting in the copilot's seat. "Hey," he said in the gentlest voice he could manage, "what's wrong."

Han looked up, his face red, his eyes teary and puffed, the wrinkles in his face more prominent than Finn remembered. "Hey, big deal," he said in a scratchy voice.

"What's going on?" Finn asked.

Han took a deep breath, wiping the back of his hand over his eyes. "Nothing that should concern you, kid."

"Really?" Finn raised an eyebrow. "You know, you've been acting really weird ever since your wife showed up – no wait, scratch that, you've been acting weird ever since Kylo Ren kidnapped Rey." Once he brought up Rey, he found that he couldn't stop. "Why didn't you take Kylo Ren down when you had the chance?"

"None of your business . . ." Han muttered, now staring blankly ahead at the streaks of hyperspace.

"Look, you might not know Kylo Ren, but _I_ do. You've got _no idea_ what he could do to her!"

"Yeah, I do . . ."

"Then WHY didn't you bring him down when you had the chance? You had a clear shot and you did NOTHING!"

Suddenly Han's head snapped around in Finn's direction, his face hardened into a glare. "Because he's my SON, okay?"

Everything went quiet after that. Finn just sat there with his mouth hanging open, his mind unable to process this information. It was as if he had been knocked on the head and sent into a dream world where nothing made sense.

"Does _that_ answer your question, big deal?" Han growled.

Finn took several seconds to answer. "Your _son?_ _How?"_

"Don't stormtroopers get the talk about what happens when a mommy and daddy love each other very much?" Han said with a groan.

Finn's breath was coming out in uneven pants. He thought he remembered hearing somewhere that Han Solo and Leia Organa had a son, but he had died with the other Jedi.

"Kylo Ren . . ." he whispered. " _Your_ son?" It was hard to wrap his mind around the idea that Kylo Ren could be _anybody's_ son, yet alone Han's.

"Yeah," Han muttered, wiping his eyes again.

Finn gulped. "I'm . . . I'm sorry."

Han didn't answer, but another tear ran down his cheek.


	46. Dawn

**Prompt 46 - Dawn**

Han had never considered himself an early riser – in fact, he usually wanted to avoid getting up early at all costs. If Leia getting ready for work in the dark hours of early morning woke him up, he'd allow her to kiss him goodbye and then promptly go back to sleep before Ben would inevitably demand a diaper change, breakfast, and attention from his daddy. The little guy was six months old now, but he still hadn't learned how to sleep through the night. Fortunately, most days Han was able to catch a nap while Ben napped, but that wasn't enough to keep him from groaning when the baby cried in the morning.

This morning, however, it wasn't Leia going to work or Ben crying that woke him up. It was the warmth of Naboo's sun and the brightness spilling through the window of their hotel room. Unlike Coruscant's harsh sun, Naboo's sun had a certain softness to it that made waking up a little less unpleasant.

He opened his eyes to a squint, having to blink a few times before he could make out his wife standing by the open window, holding their infant son who was already wearing his shirt that said "Look how cute I am!"

Han climbed out of bed and shuffled his way over to his two favorite people in the galaxy. "Hey sweetheart," he said, kissing his wife's cheek. "Did Ben wake you up?"

"Actually, no," said Leia, smiling at him from behind a few strands of her disheveled morning hair. "I just wanted Ben to see his first Naboo sunrise."

Baby Ben had his fingers in his mouth and his eyes were reflecting the sunlight, as if he were engrossed in the brightening sky and the orange rays.

"Is that right, kiddo?" asked Han, kissing his baby's forehead. "You enjoyin' the sunrise?"

Ben took his hand out of his mouth and smiled at his father, showing off the first few teeth that had come in recently.

"I bet you are," said Han, holding up his finger so Ben could wrap his little wet hand around it. "Yes, you are. You like the sun, don't you?"

Ben cooed in response, squeezing his father's finger as if making a pact with him.

"I think he likes the early morning attention," Leia said with a laugh. "That's why he still doesn't sleep through the night."

Han was kissing the child's forehead a second time. "Well kiddo, when you get bigger and we go vacationing here, your mommy and daddy will want to sleep in, you got that?"

Leia laughed again. "Somehow I don't think he'll listen."


	47. Lullaby

**Prompt 47 - Lullaby**

"Daddy," four-year-old Ben wailed, "I don't wanna take a nap!"

Han sighed to himself as he laid Ben down on his parents' bed – the only place he'd agree to take his naps. "Son, we've been over this – you get cranky if you don't take your nap."

"No I _don't!"_

"Yes you do – it's already starting. Now c'mon, I'll take a nap with you as usual." He climbed onto the bed next to his son, creaking the mattress.

"I don't wanna!"

Han sighed again. "Okay, you want your lullabies?" He reached over to the nightstand and picked up the datapad that contained recordings of Ben's favorite lullabies. "That should help us both relax."

"No," said Ben, folding his arms and sticking his lower lip out. "Lullabies are for _babies."_

It was as if someone had dropped a rock into Han's stomach. "What? Who told you that?"

"My teacher."

Han's teeth ground together. Who the hell did Ben's preschool teacher think she was? " _What_ made her say _that?"_

"Durin' naptime this year she says we're too big for lullabies," said Ben, still pouting. "We gotta sleep in quiet."

Han felt his hands clenching into fists at the thought that someone was already trying to take his son's childhood away. "You're _four!"_ he shouted.

"Yeah, so I'm not a baby."

Han took a deep breath in an attempt to restrain himself from cursing in front of the child. "Look Ben, you're teacher's just being silly. Look at me, am I a baby?"

Ben raised an eyebrow at his father as if unsure what he was talking about. "No."

"No – in fact, I'm a grownup, but _I_ like lullabies. In fact, I'm gonna listen to them right now."

Ben's other eyebrow went up. "But my teacher says . . ."

" _Forget_ what she says. She's probably just upset because her parents made her give up lullabies when she was little and now she's takin' it out on the kids she teaches." He placed the datapad back on the nightstand and turned it on. "Now c'mon, why don't we listen together?"

"I'm not a baby," Ben still insisted in a soft voice, his eyes big and sad.

"All right," said Han, "but you're gonna miss out." The first song began with a gentle harmony of string instruments in a soothing melody. "Mmmm, this is so nice." He stretched out on the bed in an exaggerated motion. "But it'd be even nicer if I had someone to listen with me. It gets lonely taking a nap all alone, don't you think?"

The child blinked at him as if unsure what to do, as if listening to the lullabies would be admitting he was a baby and exposing himself to ridicule. Why did he have to be exposed to that harshness so early – and at preschool of all places? Han was going to have a long talk with his teacher.

But finally Ben crawled up to his father and settled down next to him, nestling himself into the pillow. Han gave a dreamy smile as he wrapped his arm around his son, a gentle voice singing about how beautiful sleep was playing in the background.

"Daddy?" Ben asked in an already-drowsy voice.

"Yeah?"

"I'm not a baby, right?"

Han patted his son's back. "No, sweetheart. You're a four-year-old kid who should enjoy bein' a kid."


	48. Scar

AN: Thanks as always for reviewing!

 **Prompt 58 - Scar**

"Han, how did you get that scar on your chin?"

Every woman asked Han this question sooner or later. He liked to think it was because they thought the scar was sexy, but he knew it was probably just because they were curious.

Either way, he always made sure they got an answer that satisfied their curiosity.

Sometimes he got the scar in a knife fight where he defended his life and his honor. It was a close call, to be sure, but he was of course the victor. Sometimes he cut the other guy's nose off and sometimes he just scarred the other guy's face – either way he emerged victorious.

Other times the woman didn't look like she'd be into knife fights, so he got the scar while bravely defending Chewie from slave traders. There were always plenty of acrobatics involved – usually he was ducking blaster fire left and right until one of the slave traders threw a knife at him.

Of course, it didn't always involve knives. There were times when a jealous husband smashed a bottle in his face because his wife found Han attractive. Other times it was an encounter with a wild animal and its very sharp teeth. Still other times it was a lover with sharp nails who got a little too excited during sex.

However, this time it wasn't just _any_ woman asking that question. This time it was _Leia._

And while they were trapped in the Falcon together, she deserved an extra-special version of the story. One he had never told anyone else.

The _truth._

"Well, it was when I was a kid," Han explain, leaning back in the pilot's seat. "I told you I grew up on Kashyyyk, right?"

"Yes, you did," said Leia.

"Well see, I was a human kid among a bunch of Wookiees, so I didn't exactly fit in with the other kids – to say the least. There was this one Wookiee kid, Ronti – he and his gang liked to bully me."

Leia gulped, staring into his eyes as if trying to make up for the times he was bullied.

"Yeah," said Han. "Believe it or not, I wasn't exactly Mr. Tough Guy when I was a kid. So this one time, Ronti and his gang thought it'd be fun to tell me I had no business livin' on Kashyyyk, that I was a puny good-for-nothin' human who'd fall outta a tree and die one day, and that Chewie was an idiot for adoptin' me when my parents died in that ship crash." He sighed. "Well, I could take 'em insultin' _me,_ but insultin' _Chewie_ was another matter. So I jumped him, which resulted in me getting beaten up."

Leia put a gentle hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry."

"It was a long time ago," Han said, as if that made everything all right. "Anyway, most of the damage healed in time . . . 'cept of course for the spot where Ronti clawed across my chin."

Leia swallowed and for a moment Han wondered what she would do. Would she laugh at how Han the tough guy was bullied as a kid? She was probably never bullied, after all – no one would _dare_ bully a princess, yet alone beat her up.

But she didn't laugh. She just leaned over and kissed his scar.


	49. Photograph

**Prompt 49 - Photograph**

Leia never realized how many holos of Han she had until she collected them for his funeral.

No one had retrieved Han's body before Starkiller Base exploded, so there wouldn't be a coffin, but she was going to make sure that in a coffin's place there would be other memorabilia of him. Now which holos to use?

The holo of them posing at their wedding would definitely be in the display, as would the holo of her feeding him cake at the reception. He would probably be embarrassed that she was going to display a holo of him with cake frosting on his lips to the public, but it was one of Leia's most cherished memories and she was going to share it.

There was also a holo from the medal ceremony at Yavin 4 – that would definitely be on the display. In it, Han was giving a wide grin that looked almost embarrassed, as if he couldn't believe he was actually there, that he had actually returned to the Rebellion after running off.

There was another holo of him on the beach during one of their many Naboo vacation, where he was about to run into the ocean. Definitely going on the display – she had to show her husband's playful side after all.

And here was one of Han and Luke clinking glasses at a bar that actually made Leia giggle despite the current circumstances. She would add this one to the display for sure.

Then she gazed over at the holos she hadn't yet added to the display pile. These showed Han at various ages, spanning the last three decades, engaged in various activities, but they all showed one thing in common.

Their son . . .

Here was Han holding baby Ben for the first time, his eyes teary as he gazed down at the infant. There was Ben's third birthday and Han applauding his son for blowing out the candles. Here was Ben riding his father's back and there was Han and Ben eating ice cream. On and on they went, filling Leia's head with memories and welling up her eyes.

How could she put _these_ holos on the display? These holos of Han with . . . his _killer?_

Tears streamed down her face as she pressed the holo of Han holding their baby against her chest. Why had she told Han to bring Ben home? Why had he listened to her?

Because they loved him. A stupid, sentimental reason that had cost Han his life.

She sniffled as she looked again at Han smiling down at the baby . . . the baby he had sacrificed himself for.

After a deep breath, she placed it on the pile for the funeral display.


	50. Presence

**Prompt #50 - Presence**

"Luke, what are you looking at?"

Leia's newfound brother seemed to be gazing out at some nearby trees, but not looking at the trees themselves. "Luke?" she repeated. "What are you looking at?"

Luke slowly turned to face her, his eyes reflecting the bonfire's light. "Leia, don't you see them?"

"See what?"

Luke turned back to the spot he was gazing at. "The ghosts . . ."

Normally Leia would have thought Luke was either crazy or joking, but with all that had happened lately she couldn't bring herself to completely doubt him. "Ghosts?"

"Yes," Luke kept looking from Leia to the trees and back again. "You really don't see them?"

"Don't you think I'd tell you if I was seeing ghosts?"

Luke sighed. "I don't understand why you can't see them . . ."

"Maybe if you told me who they were?" Leia offered.

"Well . . ." Luke pointed forward with his gloved hand, ". . . there's Obi-Wan, and there's Master Yoda, and there's . . ." He hesitated for a lingering moment. ". . . there's our father."

Leia couldn't stop her eyes from bulging at what appeared to be empty space to her. "Our . . . our . . ." She couldn't utter the last word. Not yet. "What . . . what does he look like?"

Luke slowly smiled at her. "He looks young and healthy – blond curly hair, blue eyes."

"So he looks like you?"

"I guess a little bit."

"Why can't I see them?"

Luke shrugged. "Maybe you'll be able to see them after you've trained in the Force some more." He put his real hand on her shoulder. "Master Yoda tasked me with rebuilding the Jedi - I could start by teaching you what I've learned."

Learn about the Force. She could learn about the Force. Her hands twitched a little at the thought – she wasn't exactly sure how to feel about it. Though Luke could levitate objects and fight with a lightsaber, there was a certain heaviness on him now that wasn't present when she'd first met him.

"Leia, he wants me to tell you something,"

Leia gulped, her insides growing cold, her mind vaguely aware of the music drifting in from the party and wishing she had stayed there instead of asking Luke what was going on. "What?" Her voice came out in the tiniest of whispers, her stomach tightened as if she were about to jump off a cliff.

Luke squeezed his sister's shoulder. "He says he loves you, Leia."


	51. Rejection

AN: Thanks for reading and reviewing!

 **Prompt 51 - Rejection**

"So Leia, whaddaya say about a date?"

Leia stopped in her tracks and stared at him as if he'd suggested that they eat some poison together. _"What?"_

"You heard me," said Han as the two sidestepped through the crowd. "I'm sure we could take some time off from the supply run to have dinner somewhere."

"And _what_ makes you think I'd want to do that?"

Han put on his most obnoxious grin. "The fact that you like me, for one thing."

Leia ground her teeth, once again having to use all her willpower to keep herself from slapping him in the face.

"There, see?" Han said, his grin possibly even smugger than before. "I left you speechless."

"I _can_ leave you here, you know," Leia growled. "You didn't bring your precious Falcon this time."

"C'mon princess," said Han, "it'd do you some good to take a break and relax once in a while."

"I'm perfectly capable of doing that without going on a date with you."

"Yeah, well we've _both_ been workin' too hard. We could _both_ use a break."

"Fine, then I'll eat at the restaurant here, and you can eat at the one on the other side of town."

Han puffed out his lips in an exaggerated manner. "Is that a no?"

Leia groaned as various people in the crowd bumped her shoulders. "Don't tell me you're one of those men who doesn't know when no means _no?"_

Now Han actually looked genuinely hurt. "Is that really what you think of me, princess? That I don't respect a woman enough to let her make her own choices?"

Whatever smart-aleck remark Leia might have been expecting, it wasn't anything like this. For a moment she just stared at him before she found her voice again. "No, of course not."

"Good," said Han. "And just to prove it to you, I'm gonna go have dinner at whatever restaurant you choose _not_ to go to."

"Han, you don't have to do that."

"I mean it, sweetheart. I ain't some crazy guy who can't take a rejection. Tell me where you're eating and I'll eat somewhere else."

Leia sighed and shook her head. "It's actually pretty silly to do that. Maybe we could go eat together."

Han instantly perked up. "Really?"

"But . . ." Leia pointed a finger in his face to show that she was serious, ". . . it's _not_ a date, you hear me? We're just eating together as friends and we split the bill down the middle."

"Whatever you say, sweetheart," said Han. That obnoxiously charming grin was back, the one that tempted Leia to slap him and kiss him at the same time. "And who knows, maybe someday it _will_ be a date."

"In your _dreams,"_ Leia snapped.

"Well, you're right about that part."

"What?"

"You're in my dreams."

Leia groaned. "Come on, let's go eat."

"Okay," said Han. "By the way, did you mean it?"

"That's it's not a date? _Absolutely_ _."_

"Not that," Han said in a softer voice. "The part about us bein' friends."

Again Leia briefly found herself at a loss for words. What went on in that guy's brain? Would she ever figure him out?

"Yes," she finally said, "I did mean that part."


	52. Take Me Somewhere

AN: Thanks as always to the readers and reviewers!

 **Prompt 52 - Take Me Somewhere**

"Mommy," said five-year-old Anakin with his wide grin, "can we go on a trip?"

Shmi returned the grin as she entered the living room of their tiny slave house. "Of course we can, Ani." She sat on the floor next to him. "Where would you like to go?"

"Coruscant!" exclaimed Anakin. "I wanna go visit the Jedi."

"All right then, Coruscant it is!" She pulled her son into her lap and held her hands out in front of her as if piloting a ship. "Vrrrrrrrrrruuuuuuummmmmm, we're taking off now!"

"Can I help pilot?" Anakin asked.

"Of course! In fact, why don't you take over the controls?"

With that, Anakin instantly thrust his hands forward, almost smacking into his mother's hands in the process. "Okay, time to go into hyperspace!" He leaned backward into Shmi's chest as if thrown back by a lightspeed jump.

"Lightspeeeeeeeeeed!" Shmi shouted, leaning back with him. "All right, how long until we get there?"

"Just as soon as we go through these ASTEROIDS!" Anakin shouted.

"Oh no, not asteroids! We'll crash for sure!"

Anakin's little giggles were overcoming his words. "Don't worry Mommy, I'm a great pilot! I'll get us through!" He leaned from side to side as if steering through the asteroids. "Vrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrchhhhuuuuummm! Okay, we got through the asteroids!"

"Already? That was quick."

"I told you I was a great pilot!"

Shmi laughed. "You certainly are. Now are we at Coruscant yet?"

"Yup!" said Anakin. "I just gotta land first!" He leaned forward, making more flying noises before blowing through his teeth. "Okay, we're here!"

Shmi looked around with wide eyes as if astounded by her surroundings. "Wow, look at all the tall buildings!"

"Yeah!" said Anakin before pointing up. "Hey look, a Jedi! He's got a light sword and everything!"

"Well what are you waiting for? Go say hello to him!"

But instead, Anakin just sat in his mother's lap, his mouth curling as if he'd been suddenly yanked out of the fantasy world. "Mommy, do you think we'll ever go to Coruscant for real?"

Shmi swallowed. "Ani, you know we're slaves, right?"

"Yeah."

"So we can't go anywhere without Watto's permission."

"Yeah, but maybe he'll give us permission."

The mother sighed, wishing she didn't have to say this. "I don't think he ever will, Ani. Even if he were to go to Coruscant himself, he wouldn't take his slaves with him."

"Well . . . maybe someday we'll be free."

How quickly small children were to find hope. Shmi almost envied him and his ability to see a bright future where he might someday be free. He didn't yet understand what it truly meant to be a slave.

"Maybe we will," was all she said. "Maybe we will."


	53. Blood

**Prompt 53 - Blood**

Anakin sat on a cushion in the meditation room, gazing down at his arm, remembering how Qui-Gon had taken a blood sample from that arm just a few months ago. The largest concentration of midichlorians ever recorded, which made him special somehow. He didn't feel special, not even when he thought about how he'd won his freedom and almost accidentally destroyed the droid control ship. He supposed he'd been able to do those things because he was so strong in the Force like Qui-Gon said, but he still didn't feel special.

He felt lonely.

He wrapped his arms around himself, remembering his mother's hugs as he stared out the window at the always-moving speeders. Qui-Gon said he was special, but if being special meant never seeing her again, he wished he wasn't special.

Why was he feeling his mother's absence so hard today?

Maybe it was because of what he learned about the other Jedi children.

He had been trying to make friends with the other kids, but they seemed to think he was weird for some reason. Sometimes they giggled when he passed by and he wondered if they were laughing at him.

Then today he heard them call him "Mama's boy."

He'd asked why they called him that and only then did he learn that he was the only child here who knew his mother. Everyone else had come here as babies and never knew or missed their parents.

And they thought he was weak for missing his mother.

"Anakin? Are you all right?"

Anakin gulped, having not heard his master enter the room. "I'm fine, Master Kenobi."

Obi-Wan slid down on the cushion next to him, smiling through the beard he had grown since being knighted. "Anakin, we've been through this, you don't have to call me 'Master Kenobi' all the time. Just 'Master' or even 'Obi-Wan' will do."

"Master Kenobi," Anakin said, "do you miss your mom?"

Obi-Wan's mouth twisted the way adults' mouths twisted when kids asked them about where babies came from. "Well Anakin, to be honest . . . I never knew my parents."

Anakin couldn't stop himself from sniffling. "So you came here as a baby too?"

"Yes," said Obi-Wan. "Nearly all the Jedi did."

Anakin sniffled again. "The other kids think I'm weird cause I miss my mom."

"Well, yours is a rather unusual situation . . ."

"Why?" Anakin interrupted. "Why can't Jedi kids see their families?"

Obi-Wan took a deep breath, gently placing his hand on the back of Anakin's neck. "Anakin, a Jedi must be committed to the galaxy as a whole. The Jedi can't put any individuals over that commitment."

Now there were tears streaming down the boy's cheeks. "So I can't ever see my mom again?"

"I don't know, maybe," said Obi-Wan, "but right now, you need to concentrate on your life here." He wrapped his arms around his apprentice. "It's hard, but you will get used to it."

Anakin couldn't respond in anything but a sob, only able to think one thing.

He wished Qui-Gon had never taken his blood.


	54. Crash

AN: Thanks as always for reviewing! Again, this piece uses the possibly-canon deleted backstory of Han being raised by the Wookiees with some slight additions by me.

 **Prompt 54 - Crash**

It had been several days since the Wookiees had taken the human baby out of the crashed ship with the dead family, but they were still discussing what to do with him. Many were in favor of taking him to a planet where humans were plentiful and putting him up for adoption there, while others wondered if they could contact any living relatives the child might have.

Chewie, however, was giving the baby a bath in his sink.

The baby's name was Han – it had been stitched into a bib he was wearing – and they were pretty sure his last name was Solo, given that that was the name on the family's luggage, but everyone was just referring to him as "the human baby" or "the human boy" or even just "the human," as if they worried that calling him by his name would form an attachment to him.

But somehow the baby had become "Han" in Chewie's mind. Maybe it was just because he had been charged with taking care of the baby until they decided what to do with him, but did that really matter?

Han was splashing his little arms in the water, giggling as if bathing was the most fun thing in the galaxy. Human babies had an interesting laugh, higher than anything a Wookiee infant could achieve.

[Do you miss your parents, Han?] Chewie found himself asking. [You won't remember them later, but do you remember them now?]

Han only cooed in response, but it was a strange kind of coo. It was a rougher, raspier coo than the sort of sounds he usually made.

Wait . . . was he trying to imitate Chewie?

The Wookiee gently placed his paw on the infant's head, causing him to give more of those growly coos. [You're a smart boy, aren't you Han?]

Han responded by reaching up and stroking Chewie's fur with his little hand, giggling again, drawing laughter out of Chewie's mouth as well. [Yes you are, you're very smart.] He sighed. [You didn't deserve to lose your parents, but I'm sure they loved you very much. Who wouldn't love a sweet little boy like you?]

Again Han was giving that growly coo and by now Chewie was sure the boy was trying to imitate him. [No, Han,] the Wookiee said, [human vocal chords can't speak our language. You'll have to learn Basic.]

There were plenty of children's holovids and other materials available on the HoloNet to teach the child his own language – it shouldn't be difficult even if he grew up surrounded by Wookiees.

Wait, why was Chewie suddenly thinking as if Han was staying here? He couldn't stay on Kashyyyk; he needed to be around his own kind.

Didn't he?

Now the baby was gripping Chewie's paw with both of his little wet hands. He cooed again, but this time there was a very distinct sound in the cooing.

"Daaaaaaaa . . ."

Chewie froze. He knew what human babies associated that sound with.

Was he supposed to discourage the baby from using that sound? After all, they would be sending him away soon, right?

Or . . . maybe not.

Maybe Chewie _could_ be a father to a human child.

Whatever would happen later, Chewie didn't discourage Han from using the sound. He simply patted the baby on the head.


	55. Don't Play Hero

**Prompt 55 - Don't Play Hero**

"Ow, ow, OOOOWWWWW!"

Han's cries of pain echoed around the Rebel Base's medchamber, making Leia flinch as she entered the room.

"Captain Solo," a medical droid was saying in his emotionless voice, "you mustn't squirm around so much – it will only make the pain worse."

Leia cautiously made her way up to the bed, where the medical droid was attempting to set Han's broken leg. "Captain Solo's leg has two severe fractures that must be set immediately."

Leia turned to face Han, whose face was drenched with sweat. "Well Han, you heard the droid – you'd better stop squirming."

"The droid wants to kill me," Han muttered.

Leia smirked. "No, the stormtroopers wanted to kill you and the door that smashed your leg _could_ have killed you. What were you thinking?"

Han cried out again. "So _this_ is the thanks I get for pushin' you outta the way and takin' the crushed leg for you, sister?"

Leia groaned. "Han, I would have gotten through the door on time."

"You don't know that," Han grumbled before crying out in pain yet again. "It could've crushed _you_ instead – I think that was worth breakin' my own leg for."

Leia wasn't sure whether to smile or roll her eyes, so she ended up doing both. "Han, you don't have to play the hero all the time, you really don't."

"But you might've gotten crushed . . ."

"And you _did_ get crushed," Leia interrupted, gently picking up his hand and patting it. "You're lucky it was just your leg and not something worse."

Han flinched again. "I couldn't help it . . ."

"Yes you _could."_

"Okay, I _could,_ but I didn't _want_ to. You could've gotten hurt . . ."

"Han, do you think _I_ like seeing _you_ get hurt?"

Han was struck silent except for his breath sucking in, as if he'd never considered that Leia might actually care whether or not he was hurt.

"Captain Solo," the medical droid suddenly said, "the princess is correct. If you take unnecessary risks, you could get injured so severely that you won't be able to heal."

Han leaned back on the pillow, inhaling as if about to dive underwater. "All right, I'll try to do better . . . but I can't promise I'll never 'play the hero' again."

Leia found herself smiling as she patted his hand again. "I don't expect you to stop completely – just be more careful when you do it."


	56. Kiss Of Death

**Prompt 56 - Kiss Of Death**

 _"One will live. One will die. Your choice."_

The voice boomed in Leia's head so hard that she clasped her hands over her ears.

 _"_ _Only one can live."_

In front of her were her husband and son, both kneeling in front of her as if the darkness were holding them down, both gazing up at her with wide, pleading eyes.

 _"_ _One must die . . ."_

"Why are you doing this?" Leia shouted up at wherever the voice might be coming from.

 _"_ _Choose which will die."_

"I won't!"

 _"_ _Then BOTH will die!"_

Suddenly Han and Ben both threw their heads back and screamed in pain, their bodies convulsing as if electricity were shooting through them. "Mommy!" Ben cried, his face red and bulbous tears pouring out of his eyes. "Make it stop, PLEASE make it stop!"

Air rushed in and out of Leia's mouth like hyperventilation. "Stop this!" she shouted. "Whoever you are, whatever you want, STOP THIS!"

The convulsions stopped, but not the child's sobs. "Mommy . . ." he coughed out, ". . . it hurts."

"I-I know, sweetheart," Leia said in a hushed voice, "but it will go away soon."

 _"_ _Choose which will die so the other can live."_

Something was stuck in Leia's throat as she gazed down at the two people who meant the most to her. "Why?" Her voice came out in a rasp. "Why?"

 _"_ _Kiss the one who will die . . ."_

What kind of cruel joke was this? Who was making her do this . . . and _why?_

"Leia . . ." Han suddenly gasped out, blood dripping from his mouth and running down his chin, ". . . save . . . Ben . . ."

By now Leia could hardly see them – so heavy were the tears blocking her vision. "Han . . ." she whispered, ". . . I can't . . . I can't condemn you to die . . ."

Han coughed out more blood. "I-if you don't . . . you condemn our son to die . . ."

"Mommy!" Ben wailed again through his sobs.

 _"_ _Choose."_

"No!" Leia screamed. "I won't play your sick game!"

 _"_ _Then BOTH will die! You know it!"_

Both will die. Those words settled in Leia's stomach, making her feel like she was about to vomit. For several moments she just stared at her family, into those two pairs of eyes she loved so much.

Then as slowly as if her feet were weighted down, she headed towards Han.

Once she reached her husband, she sank down to his level, throwing her arms around him, heavy sobs coming out of her mouth. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I'm so, so, sorry . . ."

"Don't be," Han whispered. "You know I'd die for him."

Leia grasped his face in her hands, staring into those hazel eyes one last time.

And she kissed his lips.

Everything happened in an instant. The kiss only lasted one fleeting moment before Han's body fell back away from her, down into an endless void as both Leia and Ben called out to him to no avail . . .

Leia's eyes shot open, her breath still coming out in quick pants. She wondered for a moment what had happened and where she was, but then she saw the familiar nighttime lights of Coruscant through the familiar bedroom window.

She sat up in bed, looking to the side as slowly as if a bomb would explode if she was too fast. Yes, there was Han, sleeping in his regular place next to her. And there was Ben sleeping between them – now Leia remembered that he had come to sleep with them after he'd had a nightmare. Leia breathed a long sigh of relief as she heard their steady sleep-breathing and realized that they were both alive and well – there was no evil voice after them.

It was only a dream.


	57. Told You

**Prompt 57 - Told You**

"I told you so."

Han's face was molded into his most irritating smirk as Leia cursed under her breath. "All right," she said, "I admit it, Sabaac is harder than it looks – although I still say it's mostly a matter of luck."

"Maybe," said Han, smirk unfading, "but you still have to pay up."

Leia groaned. "How about best two out of three?"

"That wasn't part of the deal."

"Oh?" said Leia. "Are you afraid I'll get the hang of the game and beat you next time?"

Han flicked his cards around between his fingers. "I thought you just said it was a matter of luck."

"I said it was _mostly_ a matter of luck."

"C'mon princess, just pay up and I won't tell anybody you lost."

Now the smirk was on Leia's face. "I thought you smugglers _liked_ taking chances with odds stacked against you."

"Who said the odds're stacked against me? Last I checked, you've played a grand total of one game in your life, which you just lost."

"Well then it should be simple to beat me a second time."

"You're right, so you might as well just pay up now."

"And _you_ might as well just play again and see if your luck holds up. Or do I need to order you as a princess to do so?"

Han groaned, rolling his eyes. "Fine, Your Worshipfulness, we'll play again. But don't get your hopes up."

They did so, Leia concentrating for every moment of the game, paying attention to Han's expression, trying to feel whether or not he was bluffing.

And as it turned out, she won.

"Ha!" she exclaimed. "Now for the tiebreaker!"

"Beginner's luck," Han muttered.

"If it's beginner's luck, then why did I lose the first game?"

"I dunno, maybe _your_ beginner's luck takes a while to build up."

"Come on, let's just play again."

They did, and for a little while it looked like Han might win, but then it turned out that Leia's beginner's luck was once again with her.

"Ha!" Leia exclaimed again, slamming her cards on the table. "I win, now _you_ have to pay up."

Han grumbled as he handed her the credits they had bet. "Okay, okay, maybe you ain't such a bad player after all."

"I told you so."


	58. Bitter End

**Prompt 58 - Bitter End**

Ahsoka never thought she would live in a homeless shelter, yet here she was, stirring her bland soup, trying to think positive. In the weeks since leaving the Jedi Order, she had been trying to get a job to no avail. She had never gone to regular school and never been educated on how to pursue any career other than being a Jedi.

Only now did she realize what a hindrance that was.

Job hunting was a world of filling out application after application after application, of having to confess that she'd never gone to school and she had no work experience and no home address other than the shelter. Fighting in battles wasn't very useful experience to employers who wanted people with actual job skills.

She had left the Jedi by choice. Over and over she reminded herself of that, though every time she did so her master's face entered her head. No, no, Anakin would be fine. In fact, he might be better off now that he didn't have to worry about teaching her all the time.

The holovid up in the corner with the shaky reception was playing some sort of news bulletin about the war, which made Ahsoka's stomach twist. Worlds taken, worlds lost, clones killed, everything she could no longer influence.

She stirred her soup again, having suddenly lost what little appetite she had. She left the Jedi by choice, she left the Jedi by choice, she left the Jedi by choice. The war was no longer part of her life.

She only hoped the Republic would win.

Of course she had always known she could die in battle. Perhaps in a duel with Ventress or Dooku or Grievous, or perhaps just shot down by battle droids. She could have gone down in a matter of seconds, no longer able to influence the war or anything else, so this really wasn't very different.

Was it?

Why did Barriss – her _friend_ Barriss – betray the Jedi? And why didn't the Jedi Council believe Ahsoka was innocent? Why was she almost executed for a crime she didn't commit?

She vaguely tapped her spoon against the side of the bowl. If any of the other residents of the shelter recognized her as the Jedi Ahsoka Tano, they didn't tell her. In fact, almost no one talked to her, but for now she preferred it that way. It saved her the trouble of telling anyone about her pat.

This was temporary, she desperately reminded herself. She wouldn't be homeless forever – sooner or later she would find work and be able to start a new life with a new purpose.

And maybe someday there would be something else to fight for.


	59. I'm So Evil

**Prompt 59 - I'm So Evil**

"MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I'M SO EVIL!"

Leia had to quickly step to the side to allow her husband and son to pass by, both fully engaged in a pretend duel with toy lightsabers.

"You can't beat me, Luke Skywalker!" Ben shouted, making his high voice as deep as he could. "You will join the dark side or die!" He swung his lightsaber at Han's, making the recorded humming sound out.

"Never!" Han shouted, doing a rather hilariously squeaky imitation of Luke's voice. "I'm a Jedi like my father before me."

"Oh, your _father?"_ Ben said with one of his wide grins. "Funny you should mention your _father."_

Han gently swung his lightsaber at Ben and Ben easily blocked it.

"HAHAHAHA!" Ben shouted. "Obi-Wan didn't tell you what happened to your father, did he?"

"Yeah he did!" said Han, still imitating Luke. "He told me YOU killed him!"

"Oh no I didn't!" Ben shouted, and suddenly Leia froze, unable to stop her eyes from widening.

"Yes you did!" Han retorted.

"No I didn't!"

"Yes you did!"

"No I didn't!" Ben was giggling between words. "You know why I didn't?"

"Why?"

"Because . . ." Ben held up his lightsaber as if to strike. " _I_ AM YOUR FATHER!"

Han threw his head back in a melodramatic fashion. "NOOOOOOOO!" he screamed, which would have made Leia laugh if her stomach weren't flipping around.

When did Ben find out who his grandfather was?

"Yeeeeeeeaaaaah!" Ben screamed back. "And you're gonna turn to the dark side or ELSE!"

"Or else WHAT?" snapped Han, now folding his arms with the lightsaber dangling from one hand. "Are you gonna send me to my room for a time-out?"

"No," said Ben. "I'm gonna . . . . cut your hand off!"

With that, Ben poked his father's wrist with his lightsaber, causing Han to cry out in pretend pain and drop his own lightsaber. "OOOOOW!" he screamed. "You cut off my hand! You're the worst dad ever!"

"Don't worry, you'll get a new one."

"No I won't!" Han pouted, squeezing his wrist. "I'm gonna have one hand for the rest of my life! Everyone's gonna laugh at me! Ooooooowwww!"

Ben suddenly looked up at Han's wrist with his eyes widened. "Daddy, did I hurt you?"

Han grinned down at his son. "Course not, son."

"You sure?" asked Ben, pushing his lightsaber's blade back into its handle. "I think I'd better look at it."

"Hmmm," said Han, "well now that I think of it, I could probably use some treatment." He held his hand out to his son. "Do you think the best doctor in the galaxy could help?"

"I'll go get my doctor bag!" Ben exclaimed, immediately skipping out of the room and finally giving Leia an opportunity to approach her husband.

"Han," she said carefully, "did you tell Ben about Vader and Anakin being the same person?"

"Nope," said Han, "Luke did."

Leia swallowed. "And . . . how did he take it?"

Han shrugged. "He seemed fine with it, actually. In fact, he thought it was neat that Darth Vader made that big sacrifice to save his son."

Leia would have personally liked to wait until Ben was older to tell him, but she supposed Luke didn't have the same reservations about their father that she had. "I'm not sure if that was the right thing to do."

Han put his hand on his wife's shoulder. "Hey, don't worry, the kid can handle it. Have a little faith in him."

"I do," said Leia, "but I'll still having a talk with Luke next time he comes over."


	60. Burn

**Prompt 60 - Burn**

The smell of sulfur was irritating Obi-Wan's nostrils and making everything in his head hazy, but no physical discomfort could take his focus off of his former padawan screaming in agony as the fire consumed him.

He knew what he should do now, or at least he knew what the _compassionate_ thing was. The same thing that was done when a pet was suffering too much or a deathly ill person was in too much pain. "Put him out of his misery," the euphemism was. He could do it. One quick slice at Anakin's neck and it would be done – Anakin's suffering would be over.

And there would be no Darth Vader.

Anakin was dying anyway – Obi-Wan should just end it . . . he should . . . but why couldn't he move? The fire was blackening the young Sith's skin, charring up his clothes, reducing his entire body to ash, yet he kept screaming.

 _Do it, do it now . . ._

Still Obi-Wan couldn't move. What kind of coward was he? Even now, he couldn't do what had to be done? "Anakin . . ." he whispered as his former apprentice's briefly turned up to him, now ash-black with skin burning off, but his eyes were somehow still intact. They stared up at him, irises yellow and rage-filled, yet Obi-Wan thought he saw a hint of pleading in them.

Pleading for what? Death? The pain to stop?

Or revenge?

 _You did this, now finish it._

Anakin's image was blurring in Obi-Wan's eyes, obscured by tears. _Do it, just slice his head off and his suffering will end._

He should do it . . . he should . . .

But how could he kill his brother?

His eyes squeezed shut, but Anakin's screams followed him into the darkness. Palpatine was coming, he could sense it, if he was going to do anything he had mere seconds to act now . . .

But he still couldn't.

His nose inhaled the thick, smoky air as he turned around, mentally saying this was the most cowardly thing he had ever done and he didn't deserve to live after this, but again it was as if he had no control over his own actions.

He walked the other way, picking up his former padawan's lightsaber as he went.

He left his brother to his fate.


	61. Fear

**Prompt 61 - Fear**

"Hey Dad, could I ask you a question?" Ben asked as he sat on the couch next to his father, a datapad dangling from his hand.

"Sure son," said Han. "What's up?"

Ben held up his datapad, which was displaying the latest installment of his favorite holobook series. "Dad, they introduced a new type of creature and it's really interesting."

"Well what kinda creature is it?"

"It's called a brigem," said Ben, pointing to the illustration of a large black animal with tusks and long horns. "It's a shapeshifter like Clawdites are, but they're Force-sensitive, well kinda. They're at least Force-sensitive enough to sense what your worst fear is and they can then change into whatever your worst fear is."

"Wow," said Han. "I bet that comes in pretty handy for the bad guys."

Ben nodded rapidly. "The bad guys have been breeding them so they can scare everyone into doing what they say. But anyway, I started wondering things."

"Like what?"

"Like . . . what would it turn into for you if it were real and you met one?"

Han chuckled a bit. "That's easy," he said. "It'd turn into you and your mom dead."

Ben cocked his head, raising an eyebrow at his father. "That's cheating, Dad."

"Why?" asked Han, ruffling his son's hair and making him cringe a little. "It _is_ my worst fear."

"It has to be something you're scared _of,_ " Ben insisted. "Not something you're scared will _happen._ It says so in the book."

"All right then," said Han, leaning back. "Well, I ain't fond of spiders."

Ben groaned. " _Really,_ Dad? _That's_ your worst fear?"

"Fine, fine. It'd probably turn into Jabba the Hutt – or maybe Vader, I ain't sure. One of those two . . . but I still say you and your mom dead would be scarier."

"Why?"

Han sneaked a kiss on his son's forehead. "Cause the two people I love most in the galaxy would be gone, of course." He shrugged. "All right, now what'd it turn into for you?"

Ben twisted his mouth as he looked back at the datapad, as if the answer to Han's question was in the book. "I'm not really sure . . . maybe something from my nightmares."

Suddenly Han felt his stomach churn. "Wait, I thought you didn't have those nightmares anymore."

Ben sighed. "Not as much as when I was little . . . but I still have them sometimes."

"So . . . what would the brigem turn into?" Han was almost afraid to ask – he felt himself cringing as the words came out.

Ben sighed again, still gazing at the datapad as if afraid to look his father in the eye. "Well . . . there's a voice in the dreams – a big, scary voice. It wants me for something and . . . and I can't get away from it. I'm not sure how the brigem would turn into the voice, though."

Han gulped. "Ben, you know you can tell us about your dreams, right?"

"Yeah, but I'm not six anymore, Dad," Ben insisted. "I know nightmares aren't real, okay?"

Han nodded, but he couldn't shake the uneasiness in his stomach.


	62. Why Not?

AN: Thanks as always for reading and reviewing!

 **Prompt 62 - Why Not?**

"Dad," the kids said, "can we go to the mall?"

"Sure, why not?" Han replied. After all, this was one of those weekends where Leia had to work and the kids deserved to have a little fun. So it wasn't long before Han, Jaina, Jacen, and Anakin were browsing around the mall, wandering in and out of different stores.

"Now remember, we can't buy too much," Han said. "This is basically a look-only trip."

"Okay," the kids said in unison.

However, shortly after they arrived, Jacen saw something he wanted. "Dad, look!" he exclaimed. " _Creature Crossing: Tatooine Edition!_ Can I get it, please?"

"No," said Han, "remember what I said about this bein' a look-only trip?"

"But _Creature Crossing's_ my favorite hologame and I've been waiting for the Tatooine Edition to come out!" Jacen gave Han the big, round eyes tha _t_ Han always had trouble resisting. "Pleeeeeaaaaaasssee?

Sure enough, Han found himself groaning within a few seconds. "Ah, fine, why not?"

"Yay!"

Well, at least Jacen would be placated for the rest of the trip, but then at the toy store Anakin saw something he wanted.

"Look, look Dad!" the youngest Solo child shouted, excitedly pointing his finger at the action figure display. "They've got Uncle Luke in his new green Jedi robe! Can I get it? Please?"

Han raised his eyebrow at the toy – even after all these years he still hadn't quite gotten used to his family's images being used for action figures. "Ani, what'd I say about this bein' a look-only trip?"

"But you got Jacen his hologame!" Anakin argued. "Do you love him better now?"

"No, no, of course not . . ." Han sighed, again finding that he couldn't resist those round eyes. "Fine, you can get it, why not?"

Of course, now that her brothers had each gotten something, Jaina wasn't about to be left out. "Hey Dad, can I get this model starship kit?"

This time Han didn't even argue. "Sure, why not?"

Well, now that all three kids had gotten something, Han was sure there wouldn't be any more trouble – but then after they'd had lunch in the food court, the kids started looking longingly at the ice cream parlor.

"Dad," Jaina said carefully, "could we get ice cream?"

Han knew he should say no, but once he himself got a look at the holos of ice cream made to appear as tempting as possible, he again found himself unable to resist. "Sure, why not?"

After they had their ice cream, Han figured it was time to head home before the kids roped him into anything else, but they had other ideas.

"Hey Dad," said Jacen, "can we see a holofilm?"

"And get popcorn?" added Anakin.

"And candy?" added Jaina.

"Pleeeeeaaaaasssee?" they all pleaded at once, giving Han a triple dose of those big round eyes.

Leia was probably going to give Han a good lecture when they got home, but what was a lecture compared to those eyes?

"Sure," he said, "why not?"


	63. I'm Lonely

**Prompt 63 - I'm Lonely**

Leia hadn't slept much since the destruction of Alderaan. Sleep meant dreams and dreams meant possibly returning to the Death Star and being forced to watch her planet explode. No one knew she went wandering the Rebel Base at night, of course – she couldn't go around telling people that one of their courageous leaders wasn't sleeping. She even covered the dark circles under her eyes with makeup so no one would suspect a thing.

Tonight one of her night wanderings brought her to the cafeteria, where she sank down at one of the tables, listening to her own uneven breathing. In her mind she saw Bail and Breha, staring at her with sorrowful, disappointed eyes, as if blaming her for their deaths.

Along with the deaths of millions of others . . .

She slid her head down the moonlit table, her eyes moist, her hands shaking like they did almost every night. Was it her fault? If she had gone ahead and told Vader and Tarkin the truth about where the Rebel Base was, would they have spared Alderaan?

She would never know.

"Your Highness? Are you all right?"

Leia shot up to a sitting position, quickly running her hand over her eyes and hoping it was too dark for anyone to see what a wreck she was. The _last_ thing she needed was for Han to see her in this state. "I'm fine," she said, forcing her voice to be as calm and unemotional as possible.

"Then what're you doin' up?"

"I could ask you the same thing."

Han walked up to the table, the moonlight revealing his disheveled hair and the robe hastily thrown over his pajamas. "I heard you walkin' past my door."

"And you thought that was a good enough reason to follow me?" Leia's voice was almost a hiss.

"No, not that in itself." Han was awkwardly wringing his hands together. "I just . . . well . . . I thought I heard you cryin'."

Leia felt like she had swallowed a rock. For a moment she considered slapping Han in the face, then for another moment considered storming out of the cafeteria as quickly as possible, but she did neither. She just took a deep breath and stared at him as he sat across from her, for once not looking like he was about to make some crack.

"Do you want me to leave?" he asked awkwardly. "I mean, I can go back to bed if you want some time alone . . ."

"No," Leia said almost without thinking. "I mean, if you want to go back to bed that's fine, but you don't _have_ to leave."

Han swallowed, nervously drumming his fingers on the table. "It was Alderaan, wasn't it?"

"What?"

"It's all right," said Han. "I understand."

Suddenly Leia felt anger boiling up within her. "No you DON'T understand! You can't POSSIBLY understand! Your home, your family, your friends, millions and millions of innocent lives, all wiped out in a mere second? Can you understand that?"

Han swallowed again, gazing down at his hand. "My parents died too – and I never even knew 'em. Sure, it ain't anywhere close to losin' your entire planet, so yeah, I don't understand, but . . ." He trailed off.

A sniffle escaped before Leia could speak again. "I'm sorry . . . it's just . . ."

It looked like there was actual compassion in Han's eyes for once. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone. Would you like a hug?"

"What? What makes you think I'd want a hug?"

Han shrugged. "Hugs can help, and it's about all I got to offer."

Leia didn't know what compelled her to nod, but the next thing she knew they were both on their feet and Han had his muscular arms wrapped around her. She inhaled the soft, musky scent of his robe, which was strangely calming.

"Thank you," she whispered as they pulled out of the embrace.

"Anytime. Think you'll be okay now?"

"Yes, I think I can go back to bed."

The two headed back to their rooms side by side, not speaking, yet it was a comfortable silence.

Like being with a friend.

When Leia went to bed, she finally slept without dreams of Alderaan plaguing her mind.


	64. Dreams

**Prompt 64 - Dreams**

"All right, here's our little bundle of joy, all ready for his midnight snack," Han said as he handed baby Ben over to Leia.

"Thank you, Han." Leia took the baby and positioned him in her arms to nurse. Once she opened the maternity slit in her nightgown, Ben was quick to find his mother's nipple and start drinking away, his little cheeks puffing out.

Han chuckled as he sat back on his side of the bed. "No wonder the little guy was fussin'." He reached over and gently squeezed his son's tiny bare foot. "Yeah Ben, you were hungry, weren't ya?"

Leia patted her son's head as he kept drinking. "Han," she said after a few moments, "what do you think Ben dreams about?"

Han yawned. "Why'd you ask that? Is the sleep deprivation gettin' to you?"

"Maybe," said Leia, "but I wonder all the same."

Han tickled his baby's toes. "He probably dreams about his mommy. I know I do."

Leia snickered. "What about his daddy? Wouldn't he dream about you too?"

"Maybe, but you know, he was inside _you_ for all those months, not me. You know how babies get used to their mom's voices when they're in the womb and all."

"Well what about all those times you talked to my stomach when he was in there?" Leia asked with a grin. "I dare say he got used to your voice too."

"Maybe, but not as much as yours." Han ran his finger along the edge of Ben's heel. "Sides, look which one of us he can drink from."

"Why Han, do I detect a hint of _jealousy_ in your voice?"

Han's mouth twisted in an awkward manner. "It ain't something guys are _supposed_ to be jealous of . . ."

"But are you?"

Han concentrated on the baby's toes. "Maybe . . . a little. I mean, the way you had another life inside you and how you can give him food and all. You've got a certain . . . _closeness_ with him that I'll never have."

There was an awkward silence for a moment or two, as if Leia wasn't sure how to respond to that. Just when Han was regretting that he told her, he felt his wife kiss him on the forehead.

"He'll have plenty of closeness with you, don't worry. Besides, I'm not sure if you'd be so jealous if you knew how painful labor was."

Han snickered. "Maybe _that's_ what Ben dreams of. How you screamed your head off when givin' birth to him."


	65. Surprise

**Prompt 65 - Surprise**

"Daddy! Daddy! Wake up!"

Han slowly opened his eyes, yawning in the process. When he woke up enough to be aware of his surroundings, he realized that his five-year-old son was kneeling over him, his face inches away from Han's.

"Hey son," Han murmured. "Why the special wake-up call?"

"SURPRISE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" Ben shouted, throwing his hands in the air.

Han raised an eyebrow, wondering what sort of shenanigans his son was up to now. "Er, thanks, but you know it's not my birthday, right?"

"I know," said Ben, "but today's your _pretend_ birthday!"

"What?" asked Han, raising his other eyebrow and realizing Leia was entering the room carrying a breakfast tray of pancakes, toast, and caf. "What's goin' on?"

Leia shrugged as Han scooted up to a sitting position so she could place the tray in his lap. "Oh, it's this thing Ben's class is doing. They watched this holofilm about surprise birthday parties and their homework was to throw a pretend surprise birthday party for someone, so Ben picked you."

"Yeah!" exclaimed Ben, snuggling up to his father. "So today you get a birthday party without gettin' older!"

Han wrapped his arm around his son, kissing his forehead. "Well, I ain't sure what's so educational about that, but I like it."

"C'mon, eat your breakfast in bed!" said Ben, eagerly pointing at the food. "Then I gotta card for you!"

"A card?" exclaimed Han. "You spoil me, Ben."

Leia smirked. "Probably because you spoil him first." She leaned over and kissed her husband's head. "Better do as he says before it gets cold."

Han grinned as he picked up a fork. "Say Ben, would you like to share?"

"Nope," said Ben, shaking his head and flinging his hair around. "It's _your_ pretend birthday, after all!"

Han ruffled his son's hair with one hand while taking a bite of pancake with the other. "So why'd you pick me to have the pretend birthday?"

"Easy," answered Ben. "Cause you're my best friend."


	66. Bored

AN: Thanks for reviewing! Note: this chapter takes place in my "Defenders of the Force" fanfic universe where Luke's married to my OC Rianna, who teaches Philosophy of the Force at Luke's Jedi Academy, where their daughter Mae is a student.

 **Prompt 66 - Bored**

Mae Skywalker knew she should pay attention in class – especially in her mother's Philosophy of the Force class. After all, Rianna would be very disappointed if she found out that her own daughter wasn't paying attention in her class. However, today Rianna was droning on and on about the most mundane subject related to the class imaginable: how midichlorians interacted with the Force.

She looked over to her left side, where her cousin Anakin was pretending to take notes but in actuality he was doodling a picture of a lightsaber. To her right side, her Mirialan friend Tamyra was staring blankly ahead with the recorder placed neatly on her desk. Since Tamyra was blind, she was allowed to record lectures in class. At the moment Mae was envying her – she could probably sleep through class if she wanted to and she'd still have the recorded lecture to fall back on.

In fact, there was no need for Tamyra to _ever_ pay attention.

Mae turned back to the front of the classroom, where her mother was writing some complicated scientific terms on the whiteboard. Why did the Jedi even need to know this stuff? Who cared about the scientific details of how midichlorians interacted with the Force?

"All right," said Rianna, as if reading her daughter's mind, "now who can tell me why it's important to learn this?"

Predictably, not a single hand went up.

"Anyone?" Rianna coaxed.

Finally Tamyra's hand timidly went up, much to Mae's surprise.

"Yes, Tamyra?" said Rianna.

Tamyra cleared her throat as she stood up. "Well, I think it's important to know because knowledge is important."

"Yes, it is," said Rianna, "but why is it important to know this particular thing?"

Tamyra cleared her throat again. "Well . . . I guess because you never know when knowledge about something will be useful? If you know the scientific ways that midichlorians can interact with the Force . . . well, I'm not sure exactly what you can do with that knowledge, to be honest, but I'm sure it comes in handy with _something."_

Rianna nodded. "Thank you, Tamyra. You may sit down."

There was a hint of blush in Tamyra's green cheeks as she sat back down. Mae reached over and gently squeezed her friend's shoulder, hoping that communicated that she admired her bravery.

"Now, I imagine a lot of you have similar thoughts," said Rianna. "How could this knowledge ever be useful? Well here's the interesting truth – _no one_ knows how to use this knowledge practically."

There was a low murmur around the classroom.

"Yes, you heard me right," Rianna continued. "This knowledge doesn't make anyone more or less Force-sensitive and it doesn't affect our ability to use the Force, so why learn it? Well, Tamyra's right – you never know when knowledge will be helpful. My son was kidnapped just a little more than a month ago and the Revolutionaries attempted to use his blood to transfer midichlorians to non-Force-sensitives, as you all remember."

The class nodded in unison, Mae's stomach twisting as she remembered how her brother Owen was kidnapped and experimented on.

"Fortunately," Rianna continued, "we got Owen back and their experiment was a failure, but the Revolutionaries are still out and about. Who knows what kinds of experiments they might be preparing next? It might be this very knowledge that saves us, do you understand?"

"Yes, Master Skywalker," the class answered in unison, Mae included. She would have to pay better attention now.


	67. Silence

**Prompt 67 - Silence**

When Leia passed the door to Han and Luke's room at Echo Base, she nearly always overheard something.

Many times she heard the two men laughing: sometimes in a drunken tone, sometimes in a regular tone, but when they laughed it was always happy and relaxed like two brothers who had known each other their entire lives. Sometimes she could even make out jokes they were telling – most of the time they were puns so terrible that they couldn't help laughing at them.

Other times they were engaged in conversation, again always in a relaxed tone. Whether they were talking about the war or how cold the planet was or how sick they were of war rations, it always felt like no matter how rough things got, they'd be okay if they had each other. She was sometimes tempted to open the door and join in the conversation, but she always stopped herself – they might be in their nightclothes, after all, or they might simply want to keep their conversations to themselves.

Still, at times she was a bit envious.

Other times she didn't overhear happy conversations. Instead it was Luke sobbing over something – usually his dead aunt and uncle – and Han telling him that everything would be all right in a tender manner he rarely used. During those moments, she imagined Han wrapping his arms around Luke in a protective, big-brotherly embrace.

Even when they were sleeping it wasn't quiet – she could hear their snoring and get a quick chuckle out of it.

No matter what was happening behind the door, passing by it brought Leia a bit of comfort. Here were two people who would do anything for each other and who could find strength from each other's company even in the midst of a war. Sometimes she was tempted to tell the Rebellion that Luke and Han's friendship should be an inspiration to them all, but of course she wouldn't actually do that since they probably wouldn't be happy with it. Instead, she was content to let them inspire her.

But tonight, there was only silence behind the door.

Both its residents were lost in the cold.

Leia pressed her back against the door, slowly sinking to a sitting position. Why did she even come here? Did she somehow think their laughter would echo from the past?

She gulped, her breath coming in and out in tiny increments, the door icy against her back. Did Han find Luke in time? Even if he did, there was little chance that they'd survive the night in the deadly temperatures.

 _725 to one . . ._

Han and Luke were always defying odds, right? Maybe tomorrow morning the search party would find them and they would all have a good laugh about this.

Or maybe their room would remain silent forever.


	68. Swimming

AN: Thanks again for reviewing!

 **Prompt 68 - Swimming**

"Leia, when can I open my eyes?" Han asked as Leia led him through the Endor forest, the music from the party fading into the distance.

"Soon," was all Leia said. "Soon." She led him around a few more trees, hearing a few grumbles along the way, but finally they reached her surprise destination. "All right, you can open them now."

Han obeyed, and for a moment he just stood staring at the small pond in the clearing, its ever-shifting ripples sparkling in the nighttime light. "Uh, pretty, but why'd we come here?"

Leia put her hand on his shoulder, grinning at him. "To swim, of course."

Han's eyebrow went up. "In what? Our underwear?"

"Oh, I was thinking of wearing _less_ than that," Leia said in a seductive voice.

Han's other eyebrow went up. "I . . . didn't know you were into skinny-dippin'."

"I've never done it, but if I've learned anything from you, it's to be open to trying new things."

Now Han's mouth was twisting. "Well to be honest . . . I've never done it either." His eyes shifted. "No one can see us, can they?"

Leia couldn't stop herself from snickering. "Why Han, I didn't know you were so modest."

"Hey, just cause I make lewd comments doesn't mean I show my junk everywhere."

Leia's fingers danced around on his shoulder. "Come on sweetheart, you know you want to."

Finally Han complied, and within five minutes they were both stripped naked and easing themselves into the water, slowly adjusting to the chill.

"Can you believe it, Han?" Leia asked when they were up to their chests.

"Believe what?"

"That we actually won the war?"

"Nope," said Han, gradually leaning his head back into the water to get his hair wet. "In fact, this seems like a dream. Hell, maybe I'm still frozen in carbonite and I'm dreamin' all this right now."

Leia swam around to face him, admiring his bare shoulders glowing in the nighttime light. "You're awake, I assure you. Unless _I'm_ the one who's dreaming."

Han grinned at her, his eyes seeming to focus on her breasts. "No, you ain't dreaming either."

"Then I think all this really _did_ happen."

They swam further, their heads bobbing over the surface, soon turning upright so they could face each other. Leia felt her breath getting heavy, and not just because she was swimming, either. Even in silhouette, she could see the muscular lines in his face, the slickness of his wet hair, the strong curve of his shoulders.

"Leia?" Han suddenly asked.

"Yeah?"

"Since you've never gone skinny-dippin', I'm gonna guess you've never made love in the water either."

"No, and I'm guessing you haven't either."

Han shook his head, flashing that oh-so-unique grin of his. "Well, you wanna try?"

Leia grinned back at him. "I thought you'd never ask."


	69. I Protect You

**Prompt 69 - I Protect You**

Eleven-year-old Ben tiptoed into his parents' bedroom, his hands trembling, the Coruscant outside lights casting eerie streaks over his sleeping parents. For several minutes he stood next to their bed, huffing and puffing, hovering over his father's slumbering form.

 _"_ _What are you waiting for?"_ said the voice in his mind – the voice that had been speaking to him since he was little.

Ben gulped. "Are you sure about this?" he asked in a timid whisper.

 _"_ _Ben, how long have I protected you? I made you strong enough to drive away your nightmares, didn't I?"_

"Yes, but . . ."

 _"_ _And now you have a chance to be stronger still, but not if you hesitate."_

Ben gulped again. "But reading Dad's mind . . . it doesn't seem right . . ."

 _"_ _Ben,"_ the voice said in its most soothing, grandfatherly tone, _"_ _this skill could save your life. If you know what your enemies are thinking, you can anticipate their moves."_

It made a certain kind of sense, but still Ben hesitated. "But Dad's not an enemy . . ."

 _"_ _Your father will never know that you practiced your skills on him. Now, remember what I told you. The mind is at its most vulnerable when it sleeps, so that is what you will begin on."_

Ben gulped a third time, but his throat remained dry. He gazed down at his father – hair mussed up against the pillow, mouth slightly open, eyelids contracting and relaxing.

 _"_ _Do it, Ben. See what your father dreams."_

The child's hand slowly raised, but he was unable to stop it from shaking.

 _"_ _Do it . . ."_

Ben closed his eyes as he positioned his hand over Han's head, feeling like he could vomit.

 _"_ _DO IT!"_

With a deep breath, Ben released himself into the Force, letting his focus pass through his hand and into his father's mind, pulling up at Han's dreams. For several moments there was nothing and Ben thought he was doing it wrong, but then an image came into his mind.

He was lying on the sofa, looking up at a baby on his chest – it took Ben a moment to realize that he was seeing his father's point of view and the baby was _himself._ The baby was grinning and gurgling and Han was imitating the sounds he made.

"Enjoy him while you can, Han," came his mother's voice from somewhere, though Ben couldn't see her in his current field of vision. "Soon he'll be a teenager, after all."

"Not for ages, though," Han was saying, rubbing the baby's head. "Say Ben, you ain't gonna become an obnoxious teen for a while, right?"

"He'll be a preteen before that," Leia's voice said, still from somewhere Ben couldn't see, "and some people say they're even _worse_ than teenagers."

"Still not for a while," said Han. "Say Ben, it's gonna be a long time before you're a preteen who's always annoying Daddy, right?"

With a loud gasp, Ben stumbled backward, breaking the connection. Annoying preteen? Obnoxious teenager? Why was his father dreaming this?

 _"_ _Your father resents who you are now . . ."_ The voice was low, almost a hiss.

"N-no," Ben whispered between pants, "he doesn't . . ."

 _"_ _He wishes you were still an infant . . ."_

"No! That's not true!"

 _"_ _All he wanted was something small to cuddle. You filled that role for a while, but now that you're older, he thinks you're insufficient. He would gladly trade you for another baby . . ."_

"LEAVE ME ALONE!"

With that, both Han and Leia startled awake, their eyes widening when they saw their son hovering over them.

"Ben?" Leia asked.

"What're you doin' here?" asked Han.

Ben couldn't speak. He just stood there for a moment or two before falling on top of his father and sobbing into his chest.


	70. I'm So Excited

Leia wasn't sure how long Han had been resting his head on her large abdomen as they lay on the sofa together, but she was starting to really feel its weight. Still, she didn't have the heart to ask him to get up when he was so engrossed in their unborn baby.

"Leia," he murmured, "I think he kicked me again."

"Not even born yet and he already kicks his father," Leia said with a snicker. "Hopefully he won't make a habit of it after he's born, though." She snickered again. "He should only do it when his daddy deserves it."

"Very funny," said Han, still not moving his head. Leia had gotten a good view of his tangled hair for however long it had been.

"Come on, you have to admit it's a _little_ funny."

"Okay, maybe a _little_ funny." Han patted the side of his wife's stomach. "Your mommy's a real comedian, kiddo." He took a long inhale – maybe he was smelling Leia's skin. "I think I'm gonna miss this when he comes out."

"Oh? You don't want him to be born?"

Now it was Han who was snickering. "See kiddo, what'd I tell ya about your mommy bein' a comedian?" Now he gently kneaded his hand into her skin. "Of course I want him to be born, sweetheart. In fact, I've been counting the days till your due date."

"Me too," said Leia. "But, to be honest, it's still a bit hard to wrap my mind around the idea that he'll be out soon and then . . . and then we'll be actual _parents._ We'll have a little life that's solely our responsibility and there are a million things that can go wrong and . . ."

"Hey sweetheart, don't scare him before he's even born. We'll have _plenty_ of time to worry after he comes." He patted her stomach again, taking another long inhale. "Let the kid enjoy the security of your womb while he still can." He planted a gentle kiss on her stomach. "Yeah kiddo, enjoy it while you can – but your daddy still can't wait for you to come out."


	71. Noise

AN: Thanks for reviewing!

 **Prompt 71 - Noise**

What was only noise to Leia's ears was apparently a complete vocabulary in actuality. Of course, as a diplomat and leader of the Rebel Alliance, she'd had to learn multiple languages, but the Wookiee tongue wasn't one of them. She'd never been to Kashyyyk and had only seen Wookiees in passing at Imperial Senate meetings.

However, now that she was in regular contact with a Wookiee, she couldn't help but wonder how Han could decipher the actual words in all those growls and howls. So much of it sounded exactly alike – if Leia didn't already know there was a language in there she never would have guessed there was.

Sometimes she sat and listened to Han and Chewie's conversations of which she could only understand Han's end. At times he would repeat what Chewie just said, most likely for her benefit. Or maybe, just maybe, even Han sometimes had trouble understanding the meaning behind those growls and had to confirm that Chewie just said what he thought he said.

Chewie seemed to consider her a friend. She supposed she considered him a friend too, but it was rather awkward that they couldn't have direct conversations with each other. How long would it take her to learn his language? She had heard through Luke that Han was raised on Kashyyyk, so he had grown up listening to Wookiee speech, but how difficult was it for someone _not_ used to the language to learn it?

She swallowed as she approached Han at the game table of the Falcon's lounge. He was leaning back in his seat, enjoying a beer and looking overall relaxed, which meant this might be one of the better times to ask him this.

"Hey princess," he said in his normal cocky manner.

"Hey," said Leia as she slid into the seat across from him. "Han, I was wondering if I could ask you something."

"What is it, sister?"

Leia took a deep breath. "How hard is it for a human to learn the Wookiee language?"

Her question seemed to catch him off guard – he quickly put the beer down as if he thought he might choke on it. "Well, humans can't actually _speak_ it – our vocal chords ain't designed for it."

"I knew that, but how long does it take to _understand_ it?

Han ran his teeth over his lower lip in a slow, pondering manner. "Well, I guess it helps if you've grown up around Wookiees, but if you haven't I guess it'd depend on how good you are at learnin' languages in general."

"Could you teach me?" Leia finally blurted out.

Han's teeth ran over his lip again, as if he were trying to delay answering that question. "Can't say I ever taught anyone before, but I guess I could try for Your Royal Highness." He took another swig of beer before continuing. "Here, we can start with one of the few sounds humans can at least imitate. It's their word for 'hello.' Watch me carefully here." He placed his tongue between his teeth and seemed to breathe through it, making a growly, raspy noise. "Kay, you got that?"

"I . . . guess," said Leia. "Like this?" She placed her own tongue between her teeth and tried to make the same noise.

"Well, I guess that's okay for a first try, but it was more 'go away' than 'hello.'"

Leia didn't know why, but she burst out laughing at that. These lessons were going to be fun.


	72. Ghosts

**Prompt 72 - Ghosts**

Visiting hours at the hospital were over and Rianna was getting some much-needed sleep, letting Luke have some time with their newborn daughter. Little Mae was asleep in her bassinette, her chest gently rising and falling, her downy layer of black hair clinging to her head. Luke couldn't help but stare at her in wonder – even after nine months of preparation, he still couldn't wrap his mind around actually being a father. His daughter looked so delicate, as if one wrong move could shatter her. He desperately hoped he wouldn't make any wrong moves.

"She's beautiful, Luke."

Luke jumped, his head jerking up to see his father's ghost on the other side of the bassinette, gazing down at the baby with a pensive expression on his illuminated face.

"F-Father," Luke stammered, "I didn't know you were here."

Anakin's ghost slowly looked up at Luke, his eyes sad for some reason. "She's so beautiful . . ." he said in a soft voice.

"Yes, she is," said Luke, unable to think of what else to say.

"And named after her grandmother," Anakin murmured, gazing back down at the baby.

"Well, it's technically a shortened version of her name, but yes."

Anakin's spectral hand brushed over the infant's head. "I . . . I never saw you and your sister when you were babies."

Luke gulped.

"I wasn't even there when you were born." It sounded like the ghost was talking mostly to himself now.  
"Instead I was being . . . I was being _assembled._ " Luke was pretty sure ghosts couldn't produce tears, but Anakin's face was scrunching as if he were about to cry. "If I hadn't been so . . ." He slowly looked back up at his son. "I'm sorry, I come to congratulate my son and I start wallowing in my past – you don't need tragic stories on the day you become a father."

Luke gently put his hand on his father's ghostly shoulder, feeling the concentrated warm air that ghosts felt like under his fingers. "It's all right."

"No it's not," whispered Anakin. "It's something I have to deal with for eternity."

Luke found himself trembling as he looked back down at his daughter, still sound asleep and unaware her grandfather was visiting. "When your granddaughter gets old enough, I'll tell her about you."

Anakin said nothing.

"I mean it," Luke persisted. "She'll know your entire story . . . and hopefully she'll understand it."

"Understand that her grandfather was a monster?"

"Not _just_ a monster," said Luke. "She'll know about the hero _under_ the monster."

"But you don't know everything about me," Anakin said in a hesitant voice.

Luke gave a small smile, gazing again at his tiny daughter. "Well, then you can tell me."


	73. Amnesiac

AN: Thanks for reviewing! This prompt is rather obviously an AU in which Han lost his memory in the freezing process.

 **Prompt 73 - Amnesiac**

The doctors told him his name was Han Solo.

They said he was a captain in the Rebel Alliance – whatever that was – and he had a ship called the Millennium Falcon, but he didn't think he could remember how to fly a ship. They also said he had been frozen in carbonite – whatever that meant – but something had gone wrong in the freezing process and left him with something called "amnesia."

But he couldn't remember any of that.

He only remembered waking up, falling against a hard floor, surrounded by blackness, hearing an unfamiliar female voice saying she loved him, then being locked in a dungeon with some sort of large, furry thing he couldn't understand.

Everything was hazy after that and even though he could see now, he still couldn't remember. It was as though his life had begun when he fell onto that floor.

"Captain Solo," the doctor said from next to his hospital bed, pushing her blonde hair behind her shoulder, "are you listening?"

"Mmm?" he said vaguely. "Yeah."

"Well as I was saying, unfortunately we can't tell whether or not your amnesia is permanent. There aren't a lot of case studies of people being frozen in carbonite and losing their memories from it."

"Does that mean I won't get better?"

"Not necessarily," the doctor said with a forced smile. "It just means we don't _know_ whether or not you'll get better. Have you had any memories return so far? Even little flashes?"

Han twisted his mouth. "No, nothing. I got no idea who this 'Han Solo' guy is or what he's like."

The doctor sighed through her nose. "Well, there's someone who wants to see you rather badly. I don't know, maybe seeing her will trigger something. Do you think you'd be up for a visitor?"

Han shrugged. "Sure, go ahead. I got nothing to lose."

The doctor nodded before leaving the room. In a few minutes, a young woman entered, but this woman wasn't a doctor. She had brown hair done in a simple braid and eyes in a matching shade that were gazing at him as if worried about him.

"Han?" she asked. That voice . . . he knew it . . . this was the woman who'd said she loved him after he first woke up.

So this was what she looked like . . .

"Han?" she repeated. "Are you . . . all right?"

Han blinked at her – he guessed he was supposed to know this woman. She had said she loved him . . . were they married? His eyes traced her figure, desperately searching for something familiar, but he found nothing. This was a stranger.

"Who are you?" he whispered.

The woman cleared her throat, gazing downward, blinking in quick little motions as if trying to keep tears in. "I'm Leia."

"Leia," Han repeated. "That's a pretty name."

She gulped as she slowly looked back up at him, still blinking in that rapid motion. "You . . . you really don't remember me?"

Han shook his head, though his stomach cringed as he did so. "No, I'm sorry."

The woman called Leia took a deep breath. "The doctors say . . . they say they don't know if you'll ever get your memory back."

"Yeah," said Han, "they told me." He tilted his head as if seeing her from a different angle might jolt a memory, but it did nothing. "After I woke up . . . were you the one who said you loved me?"

She gulped again as she gave a tiny nod.

"So you and me . . ." He pointed to her and then to himself. ". . . we're married or something?"

"Not married, but . . . we had something special."

She looked like she might cry. Almost without thinking, Han stretched out his hand, inviting her to take it. "I don't remember you," he murmured, "but maybe you can help me get better."

She reached down and squeezed his hand. Her fingers were stronger than their delicate appearance might have suggested and her skin had calloused spots and soft spots.

He liked it.

"I'll do whatever I can to help you remember," she said in a determined voice.

His fingers curled around her hand. Whoever she was, Han had a feeling that he would like her.


	74. Do Not Disturb

**Prompt 74 - Do Not Disturb**

"Do you think Mom meant it when she said Dad shouldn't be disturbed?" Jacen asked as he and his siblings made their way down the hall.

"Of _course_ she did," said Jaina. "Dad's sick, remember?"

"Yeah," said Anakin, "but hugs always make _me_ feel better when I'm sick. I bet Dad would like one too."

"Dad's not six," said Jaina.

"So?" said Anakin. "You're _never_ too old for hugs."

The three kids reached the door to their parents' room, where they had been told not to go in because their father needed to rest.

"So, who's gonna open the door?" Jacen asked.

"Well this was Anakin's idea, so _he_ should do it," said Jaina, folding her arms.

"Fine," said Anakin, pressing the button to slide open the bedroom door. Han was curled up in bed, bundled up in several layers of blankets, his breath noisy and forced.

"Think he's asleep?" whispered Jacen.

"Probably," said Jaina. "We should probably go back – it'd be rude to wake him up."

Anakin, however, wasn't deterred. "C'mon guys, Dad deserves a hug."

"Shouldn't we wait until he wakes up?" asked Jacen.

"That could take ages," said Anakin. "I wanna give him a hug _now."_ Before his brother and sister could stop him, he went dashing into the room and leapt onto the bed. "Hey Dad! Dad! Wake up!"

Han gave a loud, abrupt snort. "Whaaaa?" he mumbled from under the covers.

"Hey Dad," Anakin shouted, "I heard you're sick!"

Han groaned, as he poked his head out of the covers, sniffling loudly while he was at it. "Yeah," he said in a raspy voice, "I'm sick, which is why your mom told you guys to let me sleep."

"I know," Anakin said, bouncing on the mattress on his bottom, "but we wanted to come help you feel better!"

"We?"

"Yeah," said Anakin, gesturing for his older siblings to come in. "Come on, guys!"

Jaina and Jacen sheepishly waved at their father as they entered the room. "It was Anakin's idea!" Jacen quickly said.

Han sneezed twice before he was able to talk again. "Okay . . . so how're you gonna make me better?"

"Like this!" shouted Anakin. With that cue, all three kids jumped on their sick father, squeezing him in a big group hug.

"We love you, Dad!" they shouted together.

"Children!" came Leia's booming voice from the doorway. They looked up and there was their mother, giving her you're-in-big-trouble glare. "What did I tell you about letting your father sleep?"

But before they could apologize, Han stepped in. "It's all right, sweetheart. They were just helpin' me feel better."


	75. Listening To Music

AN: Thanks for reviewing! Anyway, Fete is an actual winter holiday in the Star Wars universe. I heard Baby, It's Cold Outside on the radio and thought of Han and Leia and . . . this was the result.

 **Prompt 75 - Listening to Music**

Decorating the Fete tree with Fete music playing in the background had always been a cherished tradition when Leia was growing up, so when she had a family of her own she made sure to continue the tradition in her own home. Right now three-year-old Ben was toddling from one end of the living room to the other, picking up ornaments, putting them on the tree, then going back for more ornaments, all the while singing along to the songs. He knew some of the words, but for the most part he was making up his own lyrics.

"Mommy?" he asked as he held up one particular ornament. "Is dis us?"

Leia smiled as she gazed down at the ornament, which was a snow-framed family holo that was taken last year. "Yes it is, Ben," she said. "Do you remember how we went to the holo studio and had our holo taken?"

Ben nodded in the rapid motion characteristic of little kids.

"Well that's the holo that was taken. Why don't you go find a good spot for it?"

"Okay!" Ben exclaimed as he rushed over to the tree.

Meanwhile Han was sauntering into the room, bearing his cocky grin. "Leia listen," he said in a perky voice, pointing at the datapad that was playing the music. "They're playin' our song."

Leia gave him an awkward grin back. "Yeah yeah, from our first Fete together."

"Remember how we performed it for the Rebellion?"

"I try not to."

"C'mon," said Han, taking her hand. "I'll bet we can still sing it."

"Yeah!" Ben exclaimed. "Mommy, Daddy, sing!"

"Ben, that was when the Rebellion had a little Fete show to boost morale – it's not like we're professional singers or anything."

"Sing!" Ben insisted.

Han placed his free hand on his wife's waist as if about to dance with her. "C'mon, you wanna let the kid down?"

"Ah, all right, all right." Leia put her own free hand on Han's waist and within a moment they were engaged in a slow dance around the living room. "I really can't stay . . ." she sang in a rather off-key manner along with the recorded music

"Baby, it's cold outside . . ." Han sang back.

"I've got to go away . . ."

"Baby, it's cold outside . . ."

Strangely enough, within a few lines the self-consciousness was gone and Leia was swept up into the song. Ben was clapping along – Leia hoped this would become a cherished Fete memory for him.


	76. Barely Missed

**Prompt 76 - Barely Missed**

"You are lucky, Your Highness. The blasterbolt just barely missed your heart."

With those words, Han froze in the doorway of the Rebel Base's medical bay. He had been told that the blasterbolt just grazed her – not that it nearly _killed_ her. Why hadn't she told him the truth?

"Han?" Luke asked from behind him. "Are you gonna go in?"

"Yeah, sure," Han mumbled as they both made their way in, where Leia was sitting up in the bed, propped up on pillows, her chest wrapped up in bandages. Normally Han probably would have admired her figure, but right now he found that he was too upset to enjoy the fact that he was seeing more of her body than he usually did.

"What was that you just said?" he shouted at the medical droid. "The blasterbolt almost got her _heart?"_

"Yes," the droid said in its normal voice that was devoid of all emotion.

Now Han shifted his focus to Leia. "You nearly DIED?"

"Han, I'm fine," she said.

"No you're not!" Han shouted. "It almost got your HEART!"

"Han, calm down," Luke muttered.

"And it _missed_ my heart!" Leia retorted. "Look at me, I'm alive and I'm going to get better, so you don't have to get so hysterical."

"The princess also needs to relax," the droid added.

"The shot only grazed my side," Leia insisted.

"But it could've hit your _heart!"_

Luke loudly cleared his throat, as if that would automatically ease all the tension. "Um, Leia, we got you some flowers." He held up to bouquet in his hands. "See? Han picked them out."

Leia spent a few moments looking from the flowers to Han and the back again before finally saying, "Well, thank you."

"If I'd known you'd almost died, we'd have gotten you more stuff," Han muttered.

Leia's eyebrow went up. "Han, what's gotten into you? Since when are you so panicky?"

"Since he heard that you could've been shot in the heart," Luke said in a casual manner.

Han put his hands in his pockets, slightly puffing out his cheeks as if trying to hide the blush in them. "Believe it or not, Your Worshipfullness, I ain't totally devoid of feelings."

Luke playfully punched him in the shoulder. "Well maybe she'd believe that if you were nicer to her when she's _not_ injured."

"Fine, I'll try to remember that."

"And I'll hold you to it," said Leia, smiling as she leaned back against her pillow and closed her eyes.


	77. Is This A Dream?

AN: Thanks for reviewing!

 **Prompt 77 - Is This A Dream?**

"Mommy?"

Breha jumped in her seat, looking up from her datapad to see her five-year-old daughter standing in front of her in her little white nightgown, clutching her toy lothcat. The girl was staring at her mother as if she needed a desperate question answered.

"Leia?" Breha asked. "Is something wrong?"

Leia swallowed. "Mommy, I keep havin' dreams."

"Yes sweetheart, everyone has dreams." She reached over and squeezed her daughter's shoulders. "Was it a scary dream?"

"No," Leia instantly answered. "It's a very nice dream. There's this beautiful lady in it and she hugs me and kisses me and says she loves me very much, but . . ." Her eyes grew wide as she clutched her toy closer. ". . . but then she says _she's_ my mommy."

Breha couldn't stop herself from tensing up. "Honey . . . what does this lady look like?"

"She's got brown hair like me," said Leia, "but it's all curly and long and she wears lotsa fancy dresses with lotsa colors." She sniffled a little. "But _you're_ my mommy, right?"

Breha threw her arms around the little girl, squeezing her close. "Of _course_ I'm your mommy, sweetheart."

"Is the other lady really a dream?" Leia asked in a small, timid voice into her mother's ear. "Cause she feels real. I think she's sad too."

Breha slowly backed out of the embrace, looking her daughter in the eyes. "Sad?"

Leia nodded in a deliberate manner. "Yeah. Sometimes she cries in the dreams. I think she misses someone." Her head cocked a little to the side. "But she says she's my mommy and she's so glad I'm okay." Her lips pursed out slightly in a confused manner. " _Do_ I have another mommy?"

Breha gulped, slowly placing her hands on her daughter's cheeks. "Yes, sweetheart, you do . . . but she's dead now."

The girl's eyes bulged, reddening around the edges. "She's dead? Is the lady in my dreams a ghost?"

"I don't know, but I'll tell you what. If you go back to bed now, your father and I will tell you about her tomorrow."

After a moment of pondering the offer, Leia nodded and again wrapped her arms around Breha's neck. "I love you, Mommy. Even though I have another mommy, you're still my mommy and I love you."

"I love you too, sweetheart. So _very_ much."


	78. Are You Afraid?

AN: Thanks for reviewing!

 **Prompt 78 - Are You Afraid?**

"Are you afraid, Ben?"

Ben heard that question so many times throughout his childhood. Most of the time it came from his parents, usually after he had woken from a nightmare. Some nights they would hear him scream and come rushing into his room while other nights he had to go to their room and wake them up, but he always ended up in his mother's or father's arms, being told that everything would be all right and the dreams couldn't hurt him. He would believe them for a while, but then the nightmares would come again and prove his parents wrong.

"Are you afraid, Ben?"

Other times it was his classmates who asked that question. The sleep deprivation caused by the nightmares sometimes caught up with him during school, causing him to fall asleep during class and return once more to the nightmares. He often woke up screaming and sweating, to the disapproval of his teacher and the laughter of his classmates. Soon he became known among the other kids as "sleepy screamy Benny." He would hear it whispered almost every time he passed other kids, although sometimes they wouldn't bother whispering it and would simply ask him if he was afraid, followed by those loud, nasty laughs.

"Are you afraid, Ben?"

His uncle asked that question too. He said the Jedi had to overcome their fear because succumbing to fear led to the dark side. On the rare occasions when he told Luke about his nightmares, Luke would quickly respond only by saying that Anakin was afraid of nightmares too and it led to his downfall. Ben had to learn to overcome his fear, Luke said. Meditate, relax, trust in the Force, let the Force guide him. Ben tried all that, but the best he could ever do was mask his fear – it was always lingering inside him, even though he didn't let his uncle know that.

"Are you afraid, Ben?"

But the question only comforted him when the voice in his head asked it. Even though for years he never knew its name or identity, it was the only one that truly understood what he went through. The voice was always there to soothe him after a nightmare or a day of being picked on. If he talked to the voice before going to sleep, sometimes he could even sleep without nightmares.

"Are you afraid, Ben?"

The voice also promised something no one else could promise.

A way to _eliminate_ his fear.

"Are you afraid, Ben?"

The voice asked the question again when it finally revealed its identity. Ben knew he should be horrified, disgusted, and above all _horrified_ by the truth . . . but he wasn't. It was still the same familiar, comforting voice he had always known.

"Are you afraid?"

So many years had led up to this moment – so much work, so much sacrifice, but as he kneeled in front of his master, there was no regret, for he could at long last answer that question with certainty.

"No."

"Then rise, Kylo Ren."

He rose, taking a deep inhale, savoring the new name and the new life that came with it.

At long last, he wasn't afraid.


	79. Whispers

**Prompt 79 - Whispers**

What was it that made kids' whispers so cute?

Jaina, Jacen, and Anakin were seated on the floor in a small circle, taking turns whispering in each other's ears as Han watched from the sofa. It seemed to be a continuous circle of whispers going around and around and around and Han couldn't stop watching the whisper pass from child to child. He supposed it was some sort of game, though he couldn't figure out what the object of the game was.

What could they be whispering that kept them in such enthrallment? Maybe it was a sort of continue-the-story game where they had to add sentence after sentence to a made-up story as fast as they could. That would certainly be an interesting exercise in creativity – maybe Han should suggest it the next time he went drinking with the guys.

Or maybe it wasn't a story – maybe they were sharing secrets. They were certainly too young to have secret crushes (or at least Han hoped so), but they could be sharing their favorite foods or toys. Of course, if that were the case Han didn't much see the point in whispering it in a circle. Then again, he didn't see the point of whispering it in a circle if they were telling a story either – wouldn't pieces of the story get lost since no single one of them would hear the entire story?

Okay, probably not a story, probably not secrets. What else could they be whispering? He tried straining his ears to see if he could make out what they were saying, but all he could pick up was littler whispering noises in the cute little rapid manner of children. Around and around and around – would they ever get tired of this whispering game?

He was so tempted to just ask what they were doing, but that would disturb them and perhaps make them lose track of whatever they were whispering. Wait, maybe _he_ was the reason they were whispering. Maybe it was something super-secret that adults weren't allowed to hear or else it would break some sacred game rule.

All of a sudden he was feeling left out.

But then Anakin burst out in giggles – regular loud giggles, not whispering ones – and fell backwards out of the circle, making Han feel that it was a little safer to disturb their game since it had already been disturbed.

"What's so funny?" he asked as casually as he could.

"Jaina whispered, "Kkussnntumpant!'" Anakin exclaimed.

Han raised an eyebrow. "Huh?"

"Oh, nothing," said Jaina, folding her arms and glaring at her little brother. "We were playing this whispering game and Anakin just lost."

"Really? What kinda whispering game?"

"It's a game where you whisper a string of words as fast as you can," explained Jacen. "Everyone adds a new word when it's their turn, but when you're whispering so fast it can start sounding like gibberish, so if you laugh then you're out."

"Ah, okay," said Han, though he still didn't quite get it. Still, he was thinking about how he could modify the game for next time he and the guys went drinking.


	80. Crush

**Prompt 80 - Crush**

Luke had long ago realized that he wasn't actually in love with Leia, but now that he knew she was his sister, he found himself hoping that he was _never_ actually in love with her, even for a second. It had only been a crush, he kept telling himself. A stupid, boyish crush. Sure, he thought she was pretty when he first saw her hologram on Tatooine, but that didn't mean anything. Thinking someone was pretty didn't mean a crush . . . right?

Okay, yes, he'd been bothered when Han suggested that a princess and a guy like him might make a good match, but it was still just the mildest of mild crushes. He was inexperienced with women and prone to shallow infatuation, that was all. In fact, it could barely even be called a crush, right?

Right?

Besides, it soon became pretty obvious that something was going on between Leia and Han, the way they were always arguing and providing entertainment for the other Rebels with their fights. In fact, Luke and the other guys sometimes held bets behind Han's back about when they'd finally admit their feelings to each other.

But then there was that kiss . . .

He bit his lip as if trying to wash away the memory of it. Yes, he had enjoyed it – and he was sure to let Han know how much he enjoyed it even though he knew she had only done it to annoy Han. Even worse, it had been his _first_ kiss.

How many people could say their first kiss was with their sister?

But then when Han was frozen, Leia had finally told Luke that she loved Han – in a rather awkward manner – and Luke didn't feel heartbroken in the slightest. He loved Leia, but he realized then that it was only in the same way he loved Han. In the long months that followed, he and Leia comforted each other through tears and nightmares, but only as a brother and sister would.

Maybe they subconsciously knew the truth.

Luke took a deep breath. It was only a crush and nothing came from it. There was nothing to feel guilty about.

"Luke? Are you ready to go?"

And speaking of his newfound sister, there she was, her hair in tight braids pinned to her head and wearing a camouflage poncho. Prepared for a battle – hopefully the battle that would end it all.

Luke took another deep breath. "Yes Leia, I'm ready."

As he followed his sister to the shuttle, Luke's mind was still in a tussle. He wasn't in love with her, but there was still another dilemma.

How was he going to tell her about their parentage?


	81. Confession

AN: Thanks for reviewing! By the way, this piece was inspired by my friend MasterOf4Elements. In one of her fics, there's a passing reference to Han being embarrassed to be seen barefoot because his pinky toe is crooked, so I borrowed that idea for this chapter.

 **Prompt 81 - Confession**

"Leia, I got a confession."

Han brought it up so suddenly during their game of holochess that Leia almost thought he hadn't meant to say it. "What is it, Han?"

Han's mouth twisted from one side to the other as he made a move that allowed his piece to be easily captured. "Well, if I'm gonna be fightin' in this crazy Rebellion for the time being . . . you might see me barefoot at some point."

"Yeah, so?"

Han cleared his throat. "Well, see, one of my toes . . . ain't normal."

Leia didn't even bother capturing his piece. "What do you mean?"

Han gave a long sigh. "Well . . . guess it's best if I show you." After running his teeth over the insides of his cheeks, he bent over and pulled off his left boot. Leia quickly bent over to watch.

"Now, don't freak out," Han mumbled as he started pushing at his gray sock, which made Leia wonder just how abnormal this particular toe was. Maybe it was covered with hair, or maybe it was blackened from some injury. Or maybe the abnormality was that the toe was _missing_ – perhaps amputated because of an injury or perhaps he was simply born without it.

Han seemed to be pushing down his sock as slowly as possible. This must have been some weird toe that he was being so conscious about – it certainly wasn't like him to be timid about himself.

"Again, don't freak out," he repeated.

Finally he pulled the sock off, and aside from the smell of body odor drifting into her nose, Leia at first didn't notice anything worth freaking out over. His foot looked like a regular foot with regular toes . . . until she noticed the pinky toe.

The pinky toe was bent out at an angle to the side, as if it had been taken apart and poorly glued back together.

"Don't freak out," Han muttered for the third time.

Leia didn't freak out, but she couldn't keep herself from staring at it. "How did that happen?"

Han sighed. "Broke it several years ago and it didn't heal right. I mean, I can still walk and everything – it doesn't hurt or anything. It just . . . looks bad. Looks a lot worse than it actually is."

Leia forced herself to look away from the toe and slowly looked back up at Han. "And that's all? It's not a big deal."

"Yeah, well tell that to the people who freaked out when they saw it."

Leia found herself laughing at that as she sat back up. "So you have a crooked pinky toe, so what?"

" _So_ for a while I slept with socks on cause even _I_ didn't like lookin' at it."

It occurred to Leia that it was probably impolite to laugh at that, but she still couldn't keep herself from at least grinning. "It's all right, Han. In fact, I kind of like it."

"You do?"

Leia nodded. "It makes your foot unique."


	82. First Kiss

**Prompt 82 - First Kiss**

Luke lay on the picnic blanket with his fiancée by his side, gazing up at the Naboo sky. Rianna had suggested a Naboo picnic for them to celebrate their engagement, and was she ever right. In fact, he could imagine this place becoming a tradition for family vacations. Perhaps someday, he, Rianna, Leia, and Han would all be sitting on picnic blankets here while watching a bunch of children play. He closed his eyes, absorbing the warm sun on his face and Rianna's warm touch in his hand.

He was on the verge of drifting off to sleep when Rianna gently nudged him in the side. "Luke?"

Luke opened his eyes, turning over to face his future wife, who had braided flowers into her thick black hair. "What is it, honey?"

"Luke, I was just wondering . . . what was your first kiss?"

Luke's stomach jumped a little. "You know what it was – you were there. We had our first kiss in the gardens out in the city, remember?"

"Yes Luke, of course I do," said Rianna, weaving her fingers between Luke's. "But I was wondering if you had any _other_ kisses before that."

Now the Jedi couldn't stop himself from gulping. "Why do you want to know?"

There was a rather sly look on Rianna's face. "Let's just say my future brother-in-law told me a rather interesting story and I was just wondering if it was true."

Luke's face heated up and he was sure it wasn't because of the sun. Han would be getting a long lecture when they got home. "This story . . . did it involve Hoth?"

"Yes indeed, it did." Rianna's cheeky grin grew wider.

"And did it involve the time Han rescued me from the cold shortly before the Imperials attacked Echo Base?"

"Yes, yes."

Luke groaned loudly. "It _wasn't_ a kiss, all right? Or at least it shouldn't count as one. You have to understand the motivation behind it and there was absolutely no romance involved."

"Ah-ha!" Rianna exclaimed. "I knew it!"

Luke groaned again, this time louder and longer, thinking that Han should thank his lucky stars that he wasn't here right now. "Han was trying to keep me warm, okay?"

"Wait, what?"

"He was trying to keep me _warm!_ We were bundled together in a tiny tent and it was deathly cold outside and I think I might have been going into shock from the cold – I don't remember all the details – but he was trying to keep me warm with whatever means he had, so he tried spreading his lips over my face. It _wasn't_ a kiss!"

Rianna was staring at him with her eyebrows raised. "That . . . wasn't the story he told me."

"Oh? Did he tell you I was fawning over him or some stupid lie like that?"

"No . . . he said that _after_ he rescued you he got Leia so angry that she kissed you full on the mouth just to make him jealous."

Luke's cheeks suddenly heated up even harder. "Oh . . . that. Well that didn't count as a kiss either."


	83. Last Kiss

AN: Thanks for reviewing! Anyway, I HATE that Leia and Han don't get a goodbye kiss in TFA, so this prompt kind of gave me the chance to remedy that.

 **Prompt 83 - Last Kiss**

"If you see our son, bring him home."

Han squeezed his wife, feeling her familiar warmth pressed against him, trying not to tremble at her words. His eyes closed as he rested his head on hers, but even behind his eyelids he could see the black, menacing figure – the second Darth Vader – carrying the unconscious Rey off. The soul changed beyond recognition that not even Luke could reach.

But there was another figure in his mind. That little boy with the big, curious eyes, the child he had hugged countless times, kissed countless times, laughed with, snuggled with, played games with, the little boy he would gladly die to protect.

Could their baby still be somewhere inside that emotionless black armor?

Was Leia right? _Could_ Han reach out to what little of Ben might be buried deep down inside Kylo Ren?

Or was it just wishful thinking?

Han gulped, his insides tightening as he spoke. "I'll try . . ." The words came out in a whisper, but when Leia pulled out of the embrace, she was smiling at him.

He gazed into her beautiful brown eyes, suddenly feeling as if the years apart didn't matter – or maybe even didn't happen. What if he could bring Ben back against all odds? He had spent his whole life going against impossible odds anyway. What if he could bring Ben back? Their broken family could finally heal . . . things could finally go back to the way they were in happier days.

"I really will try." His voice was stronger now, more full of resolve. "I promise."

Almost before he knew what was happening, she threw her arms around his neck, the excitement he remembered from long ago back in her.

And then they were kissing.

It had been so long since he'd lost himself in her kisses. So, so long . . . but again the years apart seemed to make no difference. Her chapped lips still had the same sweet taste as before (she even seemed to still use that same minty toothpaste he liked) and her tongue hadn't forgotten how to dance with his. Even all these years after the war with the Empire, her kiss still had a way of convincing him that everything was going to be all right.

Though he could have remained in that state for hours, their lips had to separate and the real world had to return. He ran his hand down her lined-but-still-beautiful cheek, realizing it was damp. Then Leia did the same thing to his cheek and he realized he was crying as well.

"It's gonna be all right," he murmured, though he wasn't sure if he was reassuring Leia or himself.

Leia's smile was back as another tear streamed down her cheek. "I know."


	84. Punch

AN: Thanks as always for reviewing! Again, Mae and Owen are Luke's children from my "Defenders of the Force" fanfic universe.

 **Prompt 84 - Punch**

"Daddy! Mae hit me!"

"Owen hit me first!"

Luke's seven-year-old daughter and four-year-old son came running up to him, both with reddened faces and frowning mouths.

"Whoa, whoa!" Luke exclaimed. "What's going on?"

"SHE HIT ME!" Owen shouted, pointing at his sister at the same time as Mae pointed at him and shouted "HE HIT ME!"

Luke put his hands on his hips, hoping he was pulling off the intimidating father look. "What? You two both know not to hit!"

"But she started it!" Owen yelled at the same time as Mae yelled "But he started it!"

"I don't care _who_ started it!" Luke shouted back. "You both know better than to hit!" He took a deep breath, calming himself with the Force before continuing. "Now look, you two are Force-sensitive, remember?"

"What's _that_ got to do with anything?" Mae asked before sticking her tongue out at her brother.

" _Everything!"_ said Luke. "You need to learn not to let your anger get the best of you if you want to be Jedi someday."

"What if I don't wanna be a Jedi?" pouted Owen.

"Even if you don't want to be a Jedi, you _still_ need to control your anger." Luke folded his arms as he leaned over slightly. "No matter what you do with your lives, you'll still be Force-sensitive. Do you understand what that means?"

"Yeah, Daddy," the kids said in unison.

"Then what _does_ it mean?"

"It means we gotta contwol anger or da dark side might get us," said Owen.

"That's right," said Luke. "It's okay to get angry, but it's _not_ okay to hit people when you're angry." He bent over so that he was almost at their level. "Now first of all, I think you should apologize to each other."

"But . . ." Mae began.

"No _buts,"_ said Luke. "You both hit, so you both need to apologize."

"What about _why_ he hit me?" Mae persisted. "Don't you wanna know that?"

For some reason Yoda's words of "There is no _why"_ snuck around in Luke's head. He was tempted to repeat it to his kids, but then his fatherly side told him not to. "All right," he said, "Owen, why did you hit your sister?"

"Cause she took my toy speeder!" Owen shouted.

"What?" Luke turned his focus back to his daughter. "Why did you take his speeder?"

"Cause I wanted to play with it and he wouldn't share," Mae said simply.

Luke turned back to Owen. "And why wouldn't you share?"

"Cause I needed it for a race," said Owen.

"Well why couldn't the two of you just have a race together?"

The kids looked at each other as if the idea hadn't even occurred to them before Mae turned back to her father and said "Because we didn't _feel_ like it!"

Luke took a deep breath. "All right, I think we could all use a little meditation break to help us calm down, don't you agree?"

He thought they might argue, but after looking at each other again, the kids nodded and instantly sat cross-legged on the floor.

Luke smiled and shook his head. Maybe someday he'd understand this whole fatherhood thing.


	85. Slug

AN: Thanks for all the reviews!

 **Prompt 85 - Slug**

"Hey Mom, Dad, come look!"

Han and Leia rushed up to their son, who was picking around in the plants next to their Naboo vacation home.

"What's goin' on, son?" asked Han.

Ben pointed down at one of the plants. "It's a _slug!_ A _huge_ one too! Come look!"

"Wow," said Leia.

Han licked his lips before looking. Sure enough, there was a brown slug that looked at least six inches long creeping up one of the plants and leaving a trail of slime behind it.

"Isn't it _cool?"_ asked Ben.

"Cool ain't the word I'd use . . ." Han muttered.

Ben gave his mother a confused look. "Mom, is Dad afraid of slugs?"

"Not like how he's afraid of spiders," explained Leia, "but slugs don't exactly make him comfortable."

"Hey, you'd be uncomfortable around slugs too if a Hutt had a death price on your head," said Han.

"I _did_ have my own unpleasant experience with Jabba, remember," said Leia. "But I don't think we should raise our son to be afraid of slugs _or_ Hutts."

"Yeah Dad," said Ben, reaching out to touch the slug. "Not _all_ Hutts are like Jabba, right? Because, in school we learned that slugs help recycle the dirt by eating it and then pooping it out."

"Sounds real sanitary," said Han. "And isn't it _worms_ who do that?"

Ben only shrugged. "Maybe, I get those slimy bugs mixed up." He stuck his finger in front of the slug and shrieked in delight when the slug started climbing up it. "Hey look, I think it likes me!"

Leia grinned. "Well of course it does – why wouldn't it like you? You're a likable person."

"Dad, look!" shouted Ben, holding up his finger which the slug was slowly making its way up. "The slug likes me!"

Han's teeth gritted behind his lips. "Yeeaaah, make sure you wash your hands when you get inside, okay?"

"Can I keep it?"

"What?" Han exclaimed. "No, of course you can't keep it!"

Ben's face fell as the slug inched its way up his hand. "Why not?"

Leia stepped in before Han could answer. "Because it wouldn't be right, Ben. Its home is out here and it would get sad if you were to take it away from its home."

"But what if a bird eats it or something?"

Han kneeled down to his son's level, keeping an eye on the slug still inching its way up its arm. "A bird _might_ eat it, that's true, but do you know how to take care of a slug? I sure don't – what if we took it home and then it died because we didn't take care of it right? At least out here it's got a fighting chance, ya know – it's in its natural habitat that it knows and loves and it knows how to hide from birds."

Ben looked sadly at the slug (how did kids get so attached to things so quickly?). "Okay . . . I guess you're right . . . but can it crawl on me a bit more before I put it back?"

"Sure, son. Just remember to wash your hands when you get inside."


	86. Touch

**Prompt 86 - Touch**

Anakin took Padme's hand on their wedding day, but he couldn't feel it. Ever since that new metal hand had been attached, he couldn't feel anything with it.

He would eventually be able to get touch sensors installed, the medical droids said, but he would have to wait until his nervous system adjusted to the new hand or some bantha shit like that. There were a lot of medical terms involved, but it all came down to Anakin's new hand being unable to get touch sensors for a while.

Which meant he couldn't feel his new wife's hand.

He tried so desperately not to think about it. This was his wedding – his _wedding_ – with the beautiful Naboo sun beaming down on him and his even more beautiful wife. Wife. The word sounded so sweet in his head. Wife.

Padme was smiling up at him, her fingers curling around his hands, but he could only feel one of her soft hands. What was she thinking now? His hand was cold and hard – was that what she was thinking about? Was she lamenting the loss of his hand?

Would his new hand _hurt_ her?

He gulped, suddenly wishing they had postponed their secret wedding even if they would have had to wait months or years. How careful would he have to be with this new hand? Just pressing too hard on her skin could leave marks . . . and pressing harder might even break bones.

He would never be able to touch her the same way with his right hand again.

He gulped again as Padme leaned in for that wedding kiss – the kiss that would seal them as husband and wife. Was he squeezing her hand too hard _now?_ Maybe he was breaking her fingers and he didn't even know it – he _couldn't_ know it because he couldn't feel it.

But her lips were still puckered and she didn't appear to be in any pain – at least not right now.

He leaned in for the kiss, closing his eyes, wanting to lose himself in her lips the way he had before, but in the back of his mind the hand was still there, taunting him, warning him not to be too rough with her beautiful fingers or she could get hurt. How was he going to live the rest of his life with a cyber hand? How could he assure himself that he would _never_ hurt her like that?

Hopefully he was being gentle enough now, but he still couldn't know for sure without feeling it. The sooner he got approved for touch sensors, the better.

He could handle this . . . he could handle this . . .

He still had one regular hand, after all.


	87. Invisible

**Prompt 87 - Invisible**

Han didn't remember how he'd gotten back to the Resistance base. He remembered talking to Ben on the bridge and then . . . everything was hazy. Probably Ben had injured him and knocked him unconscious, though he didn't remember waking up either. He was just . . . here. The injury must have involved some rather massive head trauma – but if that was so, why didn't he feel dizzy?

Maybe Leia would explain . . . but first he'd have to explain that he hadn't been able to turn their son back to the light. How would she react to that?

There she was, hugging Rey as tightly as a mother hugging her daughter. Poor Rey looked like she'd been through hell – there were even tears streaming down her face. Maybe Han should give her a hug too when she was finished hugging Leia.

They hugged for what seemed like forever, Leia squeezing Rey as hard as Rey was squeezing her, her eyes tightly shut as if trying to keep tears in. She must have been pretty damn worried about Han – some things really never changed. Or maybe she already knew that Ben was still lost to the dark through her Force-instinct or whatever.

Finally they broke out of the embrace and Leia proceeded to hug Chewie, who was wailing as if in grief. It must have really hit him hard to see the little boy who once called him "Uncle Chewie" still lost to the dark side.

Han cleared his throat before addressing Rey. "Hey," he said as gently as he could, "are you okay? You look like you could use another hug."

Rey didn't answer – in fact she didn't even look at him. She just slowly started walking away as if she blamed him for whatever had just happened.

"Rey?" Han persisted, following her. "Look, I'm sorry I couldn't turn my son back to the light side, but at least I tried. Maybe it'll take more to turn him back. I'm sorry about whatever he did to you, but I'm sure things'll get better."

But Rey just kept walking, still refusing to look at him.

"All right," Han muttered, "if you need some time alone, you can have it. Just tryin' to help." He turned back towards Leia, who had just broken out of the embrace with Chewie. "Hey Leia . . . I just wanted to say I'm sorry. I know you really thought I could bring Ben home – for a while I did too – but it didn't work."

Now Leia was refusing to look at him or even acknowledge his presence. How much had her heart been set on him bringing Ben home? "Leia," Han pressed, "c'mon, don't do this. I really did try. Maybe we can try again, both of us together this time. Don't give up hope."

Leia just started walking away as well, as if she too blamed Han for their son still being lost in the darkness.

Han groaned loudly. "Chewie, why's everyone angry at me? You were there, you saw it, I tried talkin' to Ben and it didn't work."

But even Chewie didn't answer.

"C'mon, not you too!" Han was beginning to wonder exactly what was said before Ben knocked him unconscious and what all had happened afterwards.

[Han, why?] Chewie growled softly, still not looking at him.

Han sighed. "I don't know why. All these years since we lost Ben and I still don't know _why._ I don't know why I couldn't reach him either."

There were tears in Chewie's eyes, as if seeing Ben again had triggered those happy memories the Wookiee had long tried to bury. [Why?] he repeated as he too started walking away.

"Now wait a sec, Chewie," Han persisted, quickly following his friend. "Just _what_ all happened when I was knocked out?"

[Why Han, why?] It was as if Chewie was talking to himself.

"Why do you keep sayin' that?" shouted Han. "I told you, I DON'T KNOW!"

[Why aren't you here?]

It was as if someone had dumped icy water on Han's head. "Wh-what? Chewie, I'm right here! Look at me!"

[I miss you, Han.]

Chewie kept walking, but Han lacked the strength to follow him. He sank to his knees, a loud buzzing in his head, finally piecing together why no one was looking at him.

 _No one can see me . . ._

And worse still, he finally remembered what had happened on the bridge. Ben hadn't knocked him unconscious.

He had pierced Han's chest with his lightsaber.

Han tried to keep those two words out of his head, but they came anyway, overwhelming him with the truth.

 _I'm dead._

He looked down at his hands, seeing for the first time that there was a bluish glow around them.

 _I'm dead._

Chewie, Leia, Rey . . . they weren't lamenting that Han couldn't bring Ben back.

They were grieving his death.

 _I'M FUCKING DEAD!_

His shaking body – no, not body, _ghost! –_ toppled over to the ground, curling up in a fetal position, trembling like a living person might. He was dead, he was dead, he was dead . . .

And what was he supposed to do now?


	88. Drowning

AN: Thanks for reviewing! Again, Rianna and Mae are Luke's wife and daughter from my fanfic universe.

 **Prompt 88 - Drowning**

"Are you sure about this, Rianna?" Luke called over to his wife from the edge of the pool, where he sat dangling his feet in the water.

Rianna nodded from the pool as she held up their toddler daughter in the water. "Luke, relax. She's got a floaty swimsuit on – she won't drown."

"Swim!" Mae shouted, splashing her hands in the water. "I swim!"

"Yes, sweetheart," Rianna said in a high voice, bouncing her daughter up and down. "You're learning to swim!"

"I still think she's too young," Luke called. "She's just _little,_ after all."

"Luke, you yourself said you wanted her to be comfortable in the water," said Rianna. "On Naboo it's common for children to learn to swim at an early age." She turned back to the child. "Now Mae, I'm gonna hold your arms while you give me some kicks. Can you do that for me, baby?"

"Yeah!" Mae exclaimed as her mother gently gripped her arms. "Kick!"

Luke watched as his little girl spread out her body on the water's surface and kicked multiple times, making big splashes and giggling as she did so, oblivious to the knot in her father's stomach. Despite his wife's reassurances, he knew floaty swimsuits weren't infallible. If something went wrong, would Rianna grab her in time to keep her from drowning?

It would be so so easy for a child to drown in mere seconds.

"Mommy," Mae said when she was finished kicking, "Daddy swim too?"

Rianna gave her husband a knowing look before turning back to her daughter. "Well, your daddy doesn't really like to swim, honey."

"Why?" asked Mae. "Swimmin' fun!"

"Yes, it is fun, but your daddy grew up on a desert planet where there wasn't any water to swim in. He never learned to swim when he was little."

"Wha bout now?"

"Daddy _does_ know how to swim now, but he's not very good at it and he still doesn't like it very much."

Luke rolled his eyes. "I _am_ right over here, you know. I can hear you." He kicked a bit of water up. "I also almost drowned in a trash compactor once."

"Dwowned?" asked Mae, cocking her wet head up at her father. "Wha dwowned?"

"Drowned is when you sink in the water and you can't breathe," explained Luke. "If you don't get out of the water in time, you die."

Suddenly Mae gave a tiny squeal. "Am I gonna dwowned, Mommy?"

"No, sweetheart," said Rianna, giving her biggest possible motherly smile. "You've got me right here to help you learn to swim and you've got your floaty swimsuit."

"The floaty swimsuit can't protect her forever," Luke called.

"No, but by the time she outgrows it she'll know how to swim all by herself," said Rianna before turning back to her daughter. "Won't you, sweetheart?"

"Yeah!"

"And that's a good attitude to have," Rianna continued. "Cause if you know how to swim all by yourself, you can keep yourself from drowning."

"When I learn swimmin' by myself?" Mae asked.

"Bit by bit, sweetie," said Rianna. "Bit by bit. You learn a little at a time and then one day you'll be able to swim all by yourself." She looked back up at her husband. "Just like Daddy did."

Mae was also looking up at her father. "Daddy swim?" she asked, this time addressing her father directly.

Luke sighed. His legs still hadn't gotten used to the water temperature, but how could he resist those big blue eyes? "All right, sweetie, I'm coming." He eased himself into the pool, but he was unable to keep himself from yelping at the cold water, which caused both his wife and daughter to burst out laughing.

"Glad you decided to join us," chided Rianna.

"Hey," said Luke, swimming up to them, "our daughter's learning to swim – I shouldn't miss out on that."


	89. Names

**Prompt 89 - Names**

"It's a boy!" Han shouted as he ran into the bar, making Luke almost jump backwards.

"Wh-what?" Luke exclaimed. "Don't tell me Leia had the baby already!"

Han burst out laughing as if he'd already had plenty to drink. "No, no, we had a sonogram and it showed that the baby's a boy." He gave an almost maniacal grin. "C'mon kid, drinks are on me to celebrate!"

"Wait, so you wouldn't be celebrating if it were a girl?"

"What?" Han's eyes bulged. "Course I would, kid. It just, ya know, he feels more real now – wow, he's a _he_ now, not an _it._ " His grin returned in full force. "It's a boy, kid, a _boy!_ Leia's got a little boy growin' inside her and . . . wow!"

Luke found his eyebrows were raising. "Wow . . . if you're this excited when you just find out the gender, what are you gonna be like when it – I mean _he –_ actually comes?"

"Who knows?" said Han. "Now c'mon, let's celebrate!"

After Han ordered them drinks and they were settled at a table with their alcohol, Luke finally figured that it was safe to ask his brother-in-law a question. "So . . . now that you know it's a boy, are you going to start picking names soon?"

"Names?" Han asked as if he had never heard of the concept. "Oh right . . . names. Well, I guess there's always Han Solo Junior."

Luke snickered through his drink. "Something tells me Leia won't approve of that one."

"Hey, it's a good name."

"Well what about other names?"

Han shrugged. "I guess we could always name him after his uncle."

"Me?" Luke almost dropped his glass in surprise. "Oh no, oh no, don't name him Luke, please."

"Why not?"

Luke couldn't stop himself from blushing. "Because . . . well . . . I'd always feel weird addressing my nephew by my own name, and besides what if someone called out 'Luke!' and we both came running? It'd get too confusing."

"You're weird, kid." Han sighed. "Fine, you got any ideas?"

Luke thought for a minute as he sipped his drink, then a grin stretched across his face as an idea came to him. "Hey, what about 'Ben'?"

"Wait, _what?"_

You heard me," said Luke. "Ben Solo – it has a nice ring, doesn't it."

"Yeah," said Han, tapping his glass with his finger, "but why the hell would I name my kid after that old fossil? I barely even knew the guy."

"That 'old fossil' happens to have brought us all together," said Luke. "And I happen to think it would be a very nice gesture."

"Fine, then _you_ can name your kid after him."

Luke shrugged. "I don't know if I'll ever have kids – and besides, wouldn't it be a great way to make up to him for how nasty you were when he was alive?"

Han ground his teeth. "Fine, I'll mention it to Leia and we'll . . . _think_ about it."


	90. Waiting

AN: Thanks as always for reviewing!

 **Prompt 90 - Waiting**

When Luke first disappeared, Leia waited for him to return. Surely he wouldn't run away forever, she kept telling herself, not when the galaxy needed him so.

Not when his _family_ needed him so.

But days became weeks and weeks became months. The loss of both Ben and Luke caused Han to sink into a depression. No matter how much Leia tried to reassure him that none of it was his fault, he either refused to listen or just plain couldn't listen. Day after day he lay on the sofa, scarcely eating or speaking. Leia made therapy appointment after therapy appointment for him, but he refused to go to any of them.

 _Luke,_ her mind would whisper during meditation as if her thoughts could extend into the unknown reaches of the galaxy to wherever he was, _please come back. If you came back, Han might snap out of this state. Please, he needs you. We all do . . ._

But no answer ever came.

Then the months turned into years. Years in which the First Order rose under Supreme Leader Snoke . . . and Kylo Ren. Years in which Han became increasingly reliant on alcohol and he and Leia fought more and more. Years in which Leia helped formed a new Resistance to counter the ever-growing threat of the First Order, which only added more strain on her husband. "So you want to kill our son?" he said over and over. She offered him a position as a general in the Resistance, but he flatly refused, saying that he wasn't going to help kill their son. No matter how much she insisted that of _course_ they wouldn't kill him if it could be helped, he knew the unspoken implication in those words – that they _would_ kill him if it were necessary to bring down the First Order.

Then finally, Han left.

He said he needed time away from this war, that if Leia and her Resistance were going to kill their son he wasn't going to be around to see it, that he would be back if it ever ended. He also for some reason had it in his head that Leia just didn't _want_ him around because he reminded her too much of Ben, no matter how much she insisted that it wasn't the case.

With her entire family gone, Leia completely dedicated herself to the Resistance. No one suspected that General Organa often had crying fits at night or that she still desperately called out to her brother during meditation even though she knew it would do no good. Some part of her still waited for the day when her family would be together again.

And when Luke finally did return, it was too late for their family to _ever_ be mended.


	91. Bench

**Prompt 91 - Bench**

Han and Leia entered Ben's teacher's office to see their eight-year-old son slouched on a bench against the wall, his arms crossed and his hands up his sleeves like a surly teenager instead of the young boy he still was.

"What's this about, Ms. Swanda?" Leia asked as she and Han sat on either side of their son.

Ben's teacher, a green-skinned Twi'lek woman with a sharp expression, cleared her throat from behind her desk and leaned forward at the family. "Well, Mrs. Organa, first of all, your son is a very bright boy."

"We know that," said Han, squeezing Ben's shoulder.

"Yes," said Ms. Swanda, "which is one of the reasons why I'm so concerned about him."

"No you're not," Ben suddenly interrupted.

"Ben," Leia scolded, "don't interrupt."

Ms. Swanda cleared her throat again. "As I was saying, Ben falls asleep in class rather frequently."

Han looked down at his son, who seemed to have taken a sudden interest in the hands he had pulled out of his sleeves. "Ben, is this true?"

Ben gulped. "It's just cause I get nightmares at night. I don't miss too much."

"Ben, you know you can come sleep in our bed when you get nightmares."

Ben just kept gazing down at his fingers. "I'd wake you up with my screamin'."

Ms. Swanda cleared her throat for the third time. "Also, your son has . . . well, gotten into fights with his classmates."

"Yeah, kids do that," said Han. "Doesn't make them bad people – they're just learning social skills."

The teacher sighed. "That might be true, Mr. Solo, but your son has been _threatening_ the other kids during recess."

"That's not true!" Ben shouted. "The other kids make fun of me and call me names!"

Leia gently turned her son to face her. "Ben, even if the kids make fun of you, that's not an excuse to threaten them."

"But I don't!" Ben protested, his eyes beginning to well up. "It's just that . . ." He suddenly trailed off, as if he had almost revealed some big secret.

"What?" asked Leia, looking her son in the eye. "What is it?"

"Nothing," Ben said a little too quickly.

"Ben," Leia said in her scolding voice that sounded a little too harsh for this situation, "come on, tell the truth."

"I _don't_ threaten them!" Ben still insisted. "It's just . . . sometimes when I get angry I accidentally . . . use the Force."

Han's stomach jumped. "Use the Force? Use the Force for what?"

Ben gulped. "Nothing real _bad_ , just . . . stuff falls down around me sometimes and then the kids think I'm attacking them and tell on me."

"Ben, you _know_ you need to control your Force powers," said Leia.

"I know, I know!" Ben quickly protested, looking close to tears by now. "It's just _hard_ when I get angry."

Han patted his son's back in a feeble attempt to comfort him, feeling the teacher's glare on all three of them. "It's gonna be okay, son," he murmured. "You'll learn to control it – I'm sure you will."


	92. No You're Not

AN: Thanks for reviewing! We're in the home stretch now.

 **Prompt 92 - No You're Not**

"I don't neeeed a ride home, kid," Han said in vague, slurred voice. "I ain't drunk, I'm fiiiinnnne."

"No you're not," said Luke, grabbing the whiskey bottle off their table before Han could pour himself another shot. "Now I'm taking you home and that's final."

"C'mon, kid," said Han, his head slowly tilting from side to side. "I just haaaad one drink . . . or two . . . or three . . ."

"Oh, it was more than three," said Luke, squeezing his hands into Han's armpits. "Now look, you're either gonna let me help you to my speeder or I'll use the Force to get you there."

"I can drive home . . ."

"No, you _can't."_ Luke started to tug up on Han's underarms. "Now come on, do you want Leia to have to tell the baby after it's born that its father died in a drunk speeder accident right after finding out Leia was pregnant?"

Han seemed to sober up at least a bit at that. "Fiiinnne," was all he said, after which he allowed Luke to help him to his feet and out of the bar.

Han was snoring loudly by the time Luke got to the Solos' apartment. It seemed like only a few seconds before Leia came rushing out to the balcony, her eyes bulging at the sight even though it wasn't the first time she had seen her husband drunk.

"What the hell happened?" she shouted, glaring at her husband slumped over in the speeder, held upright only by his seatbelt.

"Well . . . it's probably my fault," Luke said sheepishly as he got out of the speeder. "See, when Han told me you were pregnant, I kind of . . . suggested that we go celebrate, and I guess he celebrated a bit too much."

"Are _you_ drunk too?" Leia asked, glaring at her brother as if he was supposed to babysit Han and make sure he didn't get too drunk.

"What? No, I only had _one_ drink."

"You've gotten drunk with Han before."

"I know, but _this_ time I didn't. I knew Han was super-excited about the baby, so I restrained myself just in case something like this happened. Now could you maybe help me get him out?"

Leia took a deep breath, glancing from Luke to Han and back again. "I guess I should thank you for being responsible. Come on, let's go put him to bed."

Around noon the next day, Luke got a comm call from his brother-in-law. "Hey kid," Han said, sounding woozy and tired.

"Hey," said Luke.

"I just woke up and I gotta hell of a headache. But anyway, I just wanted to say thanks."

Luke gulped. "Well, you're welcome."

"No kid, I really mean it. I was stupid last night and if you weren't there who knows what would've happened. When the baby comes, I'm gonna make sure it knows how great its uncle is at looking after its daddy."


	93. Nosebleed

**Prompt 93 - Nosebleed**

"Daddy," Ben wailed between sniffles, "how long do I haveta pinch my nose?"

"That depends on how long it keeps bleeding, son," said Han, still wiping blood from Ben's face. "That ball whacked you pretty hard."

Ben gave a particularly loud sniffle, trying to breathe through his pinched nostrils. "Why'd you throw it so _hard?"_

Han felt his heart sink. "I didn't mean to, buddy. It was an accident."

"It _hurts!"_ There were tears at the edges of Ben's reddened eyes, making Han's heart sink even further. He had hurt his baby – the baby he had sworn to protect ever since he was born – Ben was in pain and it was Han's fault.

"I know it hurts, buddy," said Han. "I've whacked my nose too and I know how much it hurts."

"Why weren't you more careful?" Ben's voice was cracking now.

Han swallowed as he got a fresh tissue and continued wiping the blood that kept coming. "I don't know, sweetheart. I guess I got too caught up in the game. You know, we were havin' fun and I just . . . got outta hand. I'm real sorry, buddy."

Ben sniffled several times in rapid succession. "It hurts a lot, Daddy."

"I know," Han repeated. "I wish it were me who got whacked. That way you wouldn't be in pain." He took a fresh tissue and used it to wipe the tears from Ben's eyes. "It's gonna be okay, Ben. It really will."

"It HURTS!" Ben wailed yet again, making Han wonder how long it would be before his son forgave him. Maybe Ben would never want to play ball with him again.

"There there," he murmured as he kept wiping Ben's face and new blood kept coming. "There there, it's okay, you're gonna be fine. I really wish I could turn back time and stop myself from throwing the ball so hard."

Several minutes seemed to pass in silence except for Ben's sniffling. Tissue after tissue got bloodied up and Han was beginning to wonder if Ben would need to see a doctor. He tried to remember if his own past nose injuries bled this much, but he found that he couldn't. Of course, maybe it just seemed like it was bleeding a lot because this was his child's nose.

But at long last, the bleeding started to subside and Ben started to calm down. "Okay," said Han, "I think you can let go of your nose now."

Ben slowly slid his fingers off his nose and breathed in. His breath was still snuffly, but at least the bleeding had stopped.

"There," said Han, smiling down at his son. "You were real brave there, son. In fact, I think you might have earned some ice cream. What do you say?"

He worried for a moment that Ben wouldn't want anything more to do with him, but the child grinned up at him and exclaimed, "Yeah!"


	94. Run

**Prompt 94 - Run**

 _"They're_ _never coming back . . ."_

Rey didn't know where she was going; she just knew she wanted to get as far away from that lightsaber as possible. She ran, ran, ran, weaving her way around trees, jumping over rocks, never looking back.

 _"_ _They're never coming back . . ."_

How long had she subconsciously known the truth? Since the beginning? Was she always making those marks on her wall knowing she'd be making them forever?

 _"_ _Come back! Come back!"_

Her own young voice pounded in her head, crying out for a family that wouldn't return. A family who _abandoned_ her.

How long had she known that?

The family she couldn't remember . . . she had always thought they loved her and would be back for her someday.

They abandoned her . . .

 _"_ _They're never coming back . . ."_

Her breathed increased its tempo, becoming more and more strained with each step. Abandoned child . . . she was an abandoned child who had wasted so many years waiting for a family who would never return.

A family who didn't even want her.

Part of her wanted to just sink down in despair, but something kept her running. Running, running, running. Where was she going, anyway? Where was there _to_ go? Some tiny voice inside her head said to listen to Maz and take the lightsaber, but the rest of he quickly shouted _no!_ What would it show her next time she touched it? The faces of those who didn't want her?

The memories of _why_ they didn't want her?

Tears were blurring her vision, but still she kept running as though some outward force were pushing her. Force – _why_ did the Force, whatever it was, think she would want anything to do with it?

Still she ran.

Maybe she should return to the Falcon and see if Han's job offer still stood . . . but Han would be going to the Resistance base now and returning to his wife. Would he even still want her around? Finn was leaving her, so why shouldn't Han? Maybe she just made everyone want to leave her. Maybe her very being repelled people.

Finn . . . who was Finn, anyway? Not the brave Resistance fighter he'd made her believe he was, but a stormtrooper on the run. What other secrets was he hiding? Did it even matter? He was just like her – he only wanted to run away.

Even Han had run away. She didn't know what all had happened between him and his wife, but according to Maz he had run from the fight – just like she was.

Everyone she knew ran away.

Everyone.

Including her family.

 _"_ _Come back! Come back!"_

 _"_ _They're never coming back . . ."_

Rey kept running.

Just like everyone else.


	95. Body Language

AN: Thanks for reviewing!

 **Prompt 95 - Body Language**

Leia's body language never ceased to fascinate Han. Probably no one else noticed it, but he couldn't stop observing her gestures, no matter how insignificant they might seem. He didn't even really know _why_ he liked watching her body language so much, but nevertheless almost every day he seemed to notice something new about her.

For example, she sometimes scratched the back of her head when making a decision. Not all the time, but it seemed to happen when she was making particularly difficult decisions. Perhaps it was her own way of dealing with nervousness that she didn't want the other leaders to know about it.

She would also push stray hairs behind her ears if they ever got in her face – though this happened rarely since her hair was always so neatly done. But on those rare occasions when a stray hair got out of those tight braids, she was so quick and to push it back and so neat in doing so that hardly anyone would notice.

But Han did.

Then there was how her voice would occasionally slip into an accent when conducting Rebellion meetings. He wasn't sure what kind of accent it was, but he noticed that it only happened when she was in formal situations. Maybe she had been raised to think that the accent made her more respected, or maybe that was her _natural_ accent and it only slipped out in formal situations because she was so busy concentrating on what she had to say.

And during those meetings that would otherwise put Han to sleep, her mouth would make various shapes when she talked, stretching out and then rounding, as if she were concentrating on pronouncing every syllable correctly.

Maybe that was why the accent escaped then.

When she ate she always closed her mouth when chewing – of course she would, she was raised in a palace, after all – but her cheeks still had a way of puffing out when she did so. She also occasionally licked a spoon after eating – especially on the rare occasions when the Rebellion was able to serve a dessert.

So the princess had a sweet tooth. Maybe after this crazy war ended Han could treat her to a dessert buffet at some restaurant or other.

Of course, that was assuming the war _did_ end and they would both be alive to see it.

Leia didn't seem afraid of death. Even her body language didn't betray any fear before going into battle, which always made Han wonder just what she did to squelch that fear. _Everyone_ was afraid of death, weren't they? At least every _sane_ person was.

But there was an odd gesture Han noticed sometimes. It never came before Leia _herself_ went into battle, but when _other_ people went into battle. She would give the fighters a rousing speech that ran over the battle strategy one last time and then spread out her hands to wish them luck, but then she would put them behind her back and briefly wring her fingers together.

Was that some sort of superstitious gesture, or was it to keep her hands from trembling at the thought that those people she had just inspired might not come back?

Han wasn't sure, but until proven wrong he decided to believe the second suspicion.

Especially since he caught her doing it before _he_ went on a mission.


	96. Haunted Object

AN: Thanks for reviewing!

 **Prompt 96 - Haunted Object**

Luke didn't want to look away from the gravestone he'd fashioned for Han, especially since the Force-signature he sensed behind him – the first sentient life form he'd sensed in years – wrenched at his heart even more. He knew the signature – he had never forgotten it in all these years and hadn't gone one day without missing her.

His daughter.

What was she doing here? How did she find him? Did she go off looking for her father?

And how could he face her after all he had done?

He slowly turned around, his hood covering his eyes for a moment or two before he pulled it down. There she was, grown into a lovely young woman now, that brown hair he'd so often messed up pulled back into a simple braid, her face tan and freckled possibly from living on Jakku all those years. He looked into her brown eyes, but there was no recognition in them. She looked at him as if looking at a stranger, not her long-lost father. There wasn't even a hint of _trying_ to recognize him.

Then he realized that she _hadn't_ come here looking for her father.

She said nothing, instead raising a trembling hand at him – a hand that held an object he thought he'd never see again.

His old lightsaber.

The one that fell down the Bespin shaft on the day he learned the truth about his family.

He couldn't stop his breath from shortening or his heart form increasing its beats. That day . . . the day he'd first learned about the darkness in his family that couldn't be snuffed out no matter how hard he tried. Even when Vader overcame it, it went searching for another victim in the family.

And it found Luke's nephew.

Who embraced the darkness so fully that he ended up murdering his own father in its service.

The sunlight reflected in a distorted manner from the lightsaber's handle. That lightsaber, that cursed object he never should have taken from Obi-Wan so long ago. In fact, his father never should have constructed it in the first place – he never even should have been taken to the Jedi. Why had they been so hung up on their "chosen one" theory that they ignored the obviousness that Anakin was conceived by the dark side of the Force?

If his family had remained oblivious of the Force, maybe they would have been safe. If Anakin and Ben had never learned about the terrible power within them, they wouldn't have ever used it.

And Han would still be alive . . .

Rey looked at him as if expecting him to take the lightsaber, but Luke refused to do so.

He would never touch a lightsaber again.


	97. Fight

AN: Thanks for reviewing! We're nearing the end now.

 **Prompt 97 - Fight**

Han let out a long sigh as he lay curled up on the sofa in the darkened living room, bundled up in blankets and yet still chilly, the sofa arm poking at his head despite his pillow resting between them. Who started the idea that wives could banish their husbands to sleep on the sofa after a fight anyway? And why did Han just comply to the idea?

He took long breaths in and out, in and out, trying to lull himself to sleep, but the fight still hovered over him. How did the fight start, anyway? They'd each wanted to watch a different holofilm after they put Ben to bed and then . . . things got out of hand, he guessed. Why had he been so set on watching something with action? But then again, why had _she_ been so set on watching something with horror? Hell, she knew he didn't like horror and could only tolerate it for her every so-often, but tonight wasn't one of those nights when he felt like cringing in his seat.

Damn, it was cold. He wrapped the blankets tighter around him, but it still did little good. He was even starting to shiver now. Maybe now he'd come down with a cold and it would be Leia's fault.

Or his fault . . . actually, he couldn't remember which one of them had started the fight, but why did Leia have to be so sore about it? It wasn't like they were fighting about anything important.

No, it wasn't anything important, was it? Why couldn't they have just settled for something neither of them wanted so no one would happier than the other? Or why couldn't they have made an agreement to watch one person's holofilm tonight and the other's tomorrow?

Because they were both stubborn.

Yet Han loved his wife's stubbornness.

Maybe he _could_ have tolerated a horror film tonight for her.

Yes, he could. Tomorrow he would have to tell her that.

He was finally starting to get sleepy when he heard footsteps making their way into the living room. His first instinct was to groan loudly at whoever it was for disturbing him, but he quickly thought better of it, though he still kept his eyes firmly shut.

"Han?"

With that voice, the plan to keep his eyes shut was quickly abandoned. He rolled over and opened his eyes and there was his wife, sticking her hands up her pajama sleeves, hair disheveled.

"Yeah?" Han said with a yawn.

Leia swallowed. "Han, it's cold tonight . . . and well, I was thinking it must not be nice to sleep on the sofa when it's so cold . . ."

"No," said Han, "it ain't real nice, but I probably deserve it."

Leia sighed. "Don't do that, nerfherder. The fight was my fault too. Anyway, I just wanted to say I'm sorry and ask if you wanted to come back to the bed."

Han instantly grinned up at her, noting how beautiful she looked in the moonlight. "I'd love to, sweetheart. And I'm sorry too."


	98. Eyes

AN: Thanks for the reviews!

 **Prompt 98 - Eyes**

"Just for once, let me look on you . . . with my own eyes."

Luke's red-tinted face was full of hesitance and Anakin wondered if he would actually do it. Maybe he would die with only redness in front of his eyes. Already he felt himself suffocating as his respirator struggled to take in air with its damaged mechanics. He might only have a few minutes left.

But finally his son gave a slow, hesitant nod. Anakin closed his eyes as Luke removed that heavy, horrible mask, feeling _free_ as his skin touched actual _air._

And there was his son.

Peach skin, blond hair, blue eyes – eyes and hair he had inherited from his father. Anakin blinked up at him as if waking from a long dream. The only place he had seen _color_ other than red for over twenty years was in his oxygen-heavy meditation chambers, which were always some bland color like gray. He had almost forgotten what colors like yellow and blue looked like.

He stared up into his son's eyes, which were warm and compassionate, as if he had already forgiven his father for everything he'd done. But why? Was it even possible for a soul to be so forgiving? Anakin had sliced off his son's hand, for the Force's sake. He didn't deserve forgiveness from anyone, yet alone his son. In fact, by all logic Luke should have killed him a long time ago.

So why didn't he?

The young man's image was already blurring, but Anakin kept it firmly in his head. "Now . . . go . . . my son . . ." he gasped out. "Leave me . . ."

The boy frantically shook his head as if he still thought he could save Anakin's life. He inherited his mother's optimism – how Anakin wished he had the strength to smile. "No," Luke insisted, "I'll not leave you here, I've got to save you!"

By now Luke was only a mess of blurs in front of Anakin's eyes, but his image was still firmly in his head. Though Anakin's eyes now lacked the strength to produce tears, his heart was crying. He would never see his babies grow up . . . countless memories that could have been made were lost forever . . . all because he had fallen to the darkness so many years ago.

Why didn't he realize it until his final moments alive?

"You already . . . have, Luke . . ." His throat burst with pain with every word, the world was darkening, but still he hung on to life long enough to tell his son one last thing. "You were right . . . you were right about me . . . tell your sister . . . you were right . . ."

With that, the strength in his eyes gave out and they closed for the final time.


	99. Opposites

**Prompt 99 - Opposites**

"Ben, what's the opposite of big?"

"Small!"

"That's right!" Leia exclaimed. "Now what's the opposite of heavy?"

"Light!" Ben shouted, raising his little hands as if pretending to lift something light.

"Hey, what'cha doin'?" Han suddenly asked as he entered the room.

"Op'sites!" Ben exclaimed.

"Wow, opposites!" Han said with a big grin as he joined his wife and son on the floor. "So what's the opposite of quiet?"

"LOUD!" Ben screamed into his father's face.

Han suddenly flinched back, covering his ears. "Okay, guess I walked into that one."

Leia laughed. "Ben's real good at opposites."

"Yeah!" Ben giggled.

"Okay," said Han, uncovering his ears. "How about a harder one? What's the opposite of short?"

"Taaaaaaallll!" said Ben, stretching up his arms over his head.

Both his parents giggled at that, shortly causing Ben to giggle with them. Leia couldn't help but burst with pride at her son's accomplishments even though she knew most kids his age knew their opposites. "Now what's the opposite of fast?"

"Sllllllooooooooooowwwww," Ben responded, dragging the word out for as long as his little vocal chords could handle it.

Han laughed again – Leia wondered if they would all have hiccups by the time they were finished. "Okay son," he said, "now what's the opposite of Daddy?"

Ben eagerly pointed at his mother. "Mommy!"

"That's right!"

"What?" Leia exclaimed, shooting a glare at her husband. "What do you mean I'm the opposite of you?"

Han shrugged. "Well Leia, you kinda are. I mean, look at us. You're all dignified while I'm laid back, you're all upper class while I'm lower class, you're all neat when I'm messy . . ."

"Okay," said Leia, "but we don't want to teach Ben that we're _just_ opposites of each other." She looked back at her son. "Mommy and Daddy do have a lot of things different about them, but they also have a lot of things the same."

"Like what?" Ben asked.

"Well for one thing, your mommy and daddy both believe in helping people."

"Speak for yourself, princess," said Han.

Leia lightly swatted her husband's shoulder. "You don't need to pretend you don't care about anything around your family, honey."

"All right, all right," Han said before turning his attention to his son. "Your mommy's right, we both like helpin' people. We also both like goin' to the beach, lazy early mornings, not to mention hot nights."

"Hot nights?" asked Ben in a confused voice.

Leia quickly covered her husband's mouth before he could start up the famous "talk" with a three-year-old. "We also both like sweet food," she said, "and dancing with each other, and holofilms, and traveling to different planets."

"And don't forget the most important thing!" said Han.

"What? asked Ben.

Han gathered the child up into his arms. "We both love you, of course."

Leia hugged him from the other side. "Yes, we both love you."


	100. New Home

AN: Thanks for reviewing! Only one more left after this one.

 **Prompt 100 - New Home**

Was this really home?

Anakin put down his tiny pack on the bed and looked around the mostly-bare room. His room back on Tatooine had been smaller than this, but it didn't feel so . . . lonely. He had already been told that the Jedi weren't supposed to have material possessions, so what was he supposed to put in this room?

He took a deep breath as he made his way to the window that covered an entire wall. Speeders zipped past this way and that way, that way and this way – where were they going? Why were they in such a hurry? How did they keep those skylanes in such straight lines?

And why was his room so _high?_ Anakin didn't consider himself afraid of heights – he had just flown in a space battle, after all – but as he pressed his nose against the window he couldn't help but tremble a little. In space planets quickly shrank, but here he could see so far down and imagine himself falling down the long, long way. If he fell from here, he might be dead before he even hit the ground.

He wrapped his arms around himself as he left the window and sat on the bed. It was softer than his bed at home, but it smelled funny. His bed at home smelled . . . comfortable and familiar. This one smelled like a weird soap that might have been made of chemicals for all he knew. His mother didn't like chemicals – she said they were bad for kids.

Would he get sick now?

When he got sick back on Tatooine, Shmi would take care of him. She'd tuck him in bed and make him soup and give him medicine when Watto was gracious enough to provide it. Who would take care of him if he got sick here? Master Kenobi? He was going to train Anakin, but would he take care of him too? Would Master Kenobi love him like Shmi did?

The Jedi Council said he wasn't supposed to miss his mother, but _why?_ Fear leads to anger, Yoda said – but did that mean he was _never_ supposed to be afraid or angry ever? Shmi had always said it was okay to be afraid and given him hugs when something scared him.

Would no one give him hugs here?

He flopped down on the bed, that icky smell creeping into his nose. How would he sleep with that smell always bothering him? Who would he go to if he had nightmares? Would Master Kenobi just tell him he wasn't supposed to be afraid and send him back to bed?

This was supposed to be home.

But how would he ever get used to it?


	101. Sickness

AN: Here it is, the last one! An extra big thank you to all who read and reviewed. It's been a fun month.

 **Prompt 101 - Sickness**

Leia wished she could sleep, but the constant need to blow her nose prevented her from doing so. Next to her in the bed, Han too was red-nosed and puffy-eyed and looked like sleep was eluding him too. At least Chewie had taken the kids out for the day, so their sick parents wouldn't have to worry about them and could concentrate on getting better.

Not that it looked like they would get better quickly, though. They both seemed to have one of those flus that would linger for a while.

"Leia," Han croaked out, "what're the odds of us both gettin' sick on the same day?"

Leia's chapped lips broke into a tiny smile. "I thought you didn't believe in odds."

"I don't, but . . ." He coughed several times before he could continue. ". . . ya know, usually when one of us gets sick the other can wait on the sick person."

Leia coughed as well, feeling her lungs press against her chest as if they wanted to break her ribs. "Are you saying you want me to wait on you like this?"

"No, course not." Now Han was giving his own tiny grin. "You might sneeze in my food."

"Ugh, Han, this is disgusting enough without you bringing up something like that." Leia sniffled, forced to breathe out of her mouth. "Speaking of which, who's going to get food?"

Han was sniffling too. "Well right now, I ain't hungry and I just wanna sleep."

"Me too."

He gently reached over and stroked his wife's shoulder, suddenly sporting a cheeky grin. "Why do we both have to get sick in order to have an excuse to lie in bed together all day? You know, we should be . . ."

Leia yawned. "Sorry nerfherder, but I don't have the energy for that today."

"Neither do I, which is why it's such a shame that we have to be sick for this." He slowly placed her hand on his cheek. "Stayin' in bed with the most beautiful woman in the galaxy . . ."

"I don't think I'm too beautiful like this."

"You're always beautiful, sweetheart," he said through a strained yawn. "Just be warned, if I do actually get to sleep I might snore louder than usual. Ya know, congestion . . . "

"It's all right," said Leia. "I might too."

Han snuggled up closer to his wife. "Still, even with the flu this ain't so bad."

Leia smiled as her eyes slowly closed, finally starting to drift off. "No, it's not. It's really not . . ."

Five minutes later they were both sound asleep, snuggled up around each other.

THE END


End file.
